Court Struggles With Sanction For Alcohol-Fueled Domestic Violence

An indefinite suspension of no less than three months has been imposed by the Iowa Supreme Court of an attorney with a longstanding alcohol problem.

Deremiah began drinking alcohol at an early age and had a number of alcohol-related incidents prior to becoming a lawyer. Specifically, he had “two or three” citations for possession of alcohol and one incident of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence (OWI) while attending college but prior to attending law school. He had no involvement with the criminal justice system for alcohol-related offenses until the recent events described in this opinion.

Deremiah graduated from law school in 2008 and is licensed to practice law in Iowa. He practiced in a number of professional settings for relatively short periods of time. One firm terminated Deremiah for what he described as alcohol-related absences.

Deremiah is currently employed as “of counsel” with a Des Moines metropolitan area law office. He practices primarily in the areas of criminal and family law. Under his arrangement with the law office, he retains fifty percent of his billings collected from clients.

Deremiah and Doe knew each other in high school but began dating only after meeting at a bar several years ago. During the course of their relationship, they maintained separate residences, but they usually slept together in the evening. Doe gave Deremiah a set of keys to her home, where she lived with her ten-year-old daughter.

The relationship, however, was marked by jealousy and allegations of infidelity. In April 2014, Des Moines police responded to a domestic incident at Doe’s home. The facts of this incident were not thoroughly developed at the hearing, but police were apparently called to Doe’s home after a jealous and intoxicated Deremiah burned some of Doe’s DVDs and refused to leave the residence. Police who arrived at the scene called a cab to transport Deremiah home. At this point, Doe retrieved the keys to her residence from Deremiah.

The April 2014 event was a precursor for the events that gave rise to this disciplinary proceeding. Deremiah and Doe had been drinking at various Des Moines bars on the night of July 25, 2014. An argument ensued at one of the locations, resulting in Deremiah and Doe going their separate ways. After the altercation, Deremiah went to Doe’s home and broke in the front door, causing damage to the door. Doe, however, was not at home. Deremiah then left the Doe residence.

 Deremiah later returned to the residence. This time Doe was at home. Deremiah asserts he suffered from an alcohol-related blackout and does not remember what happened next. Similarly, Doe’s memory of the event is cloudy. Nonetheless, the record establishes that Deremiah assaulted Doe in her bedroom. He punched Doe in the face multiple times, causing facial swelling and bruising to her eyes. Her left eye soon became swollen shut. According to a police officer who responded to the reported domestic assault, “I thought it was a broken eye socket because it was so swollen.” Deremiah also pulled Doe’s hair, leaving a clump of hair in the bedroom where the assault occurred. After the assault, Deremiah called his father who picked him up and drove him to his home, where Deremiah was also living at the time. home. Deremiah then left the Doe residence.

The attorney entered guilty pleas to two criminal charges and has responded well to treatment for alcoholism.

The court

 A lawyer engaged in the practice of family law who engages in acts of domestic abuse may be less effective in screening and addressing similar incidents of abuse experienced by clients. A family lawyer must protect clients from acts of family violence, not commit them…

We think the various opinions of the members of the commission reflect the range of possible sanctions in this case. We cannot, however, accept a public reprimand as an adequate sanction. Here, the escalating tumultuous relationship between Deremiah and Doe led to an assault resulting in substantial injuries. Notwithstanding the mitigating factors, we think a mere reprimand is not adequate under the circumstances.

We give respectful consideration to the majority’s recommendation of a thirty-day suspension, but we note that the majority also suggests a two-year period of probation. The majority thus proposed a sanction that offers protection well beyond the period of suspension. We have not imposed probation beyond the period of suspension in our prior cases on the ground that we lack the administrative machinery to provide effective supervision…

From time to time we step back and consider whether our approach to sanctions in our cases is generally sufficient to advance the purposes of our ethics rules. For example, we increased the sanctions for failure to file income tax returns in order to protect the reputation of the bar…

After reviewing our cases and considering the issues raised in this matter, we take another step in strengthening our disciplinary approach to injurious domestic assaults by imposing a sanction in excess of the one-month suspension imposed in Schmidt. We impose the increased sanction in part because of the destruction of property and trespass of the home, which occurred prior to the assault, but also to reemphasize what was said in Schmidt, namely, that domestic abuse by lawyers is out-of-bounds conduct that will not be tolerated by this court. Id. at 44. In escalating the sanctions for domestic abuse, we seek to preserve the reputation of the bar, ensure that family law lawyers are fit to offer holistic legal advice, and deter other lawyers from committing similar violations.

Thus indefinite suspension for at least three months. (Mike Frisch)