Attorney Suspended: Received Contraband While Incarcerated

An incarcerated Michigan attorney has been suspended automatically based on drug and probation violations. 

On December 20, 2016, respondent entered a plea of guilty to the charges of Prisoner Possessing Contraband, contrary to MCl 800.281 (4) and Habitual Offender (4th offense), contrary to MCl 769.12, in the matter of People v Susan Gail Graham, 57th Circuit Court Case No. 16-4425­ FH. Respondent also pled guilty to violating her probation in People v Susan Gail Graham, 57th Circuit Court Case No. 15-4271-FH. Upon acceptance of the plea by the court, respondent was convicted and, in accordance with MCR 9.120(8)(1), respondent’s license to practice law in Michigan was automatically suspended.

The News Review reported on the attorney’s earlier problems

A Harbor Springs woman whose license to practice law is suspended and who has a long history of drug abuse pleaded guilty recently to a felony charge of driving with marijuana in her system.

Earlier this month Susan Gail Graham, 45, pleaded guilty in Emmet County’s 57th Circuit Court to one count of driving with the presence of a controlled substance in the bloodstream, third offense. The charge is punishable by 1-5 years in prison or probation with 30 days-12 months in jail.

The plea was part of a plea agreement with the Emmet County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In exchange for her plea, a charge of driving while intoxicated, third offense, a habitual offender, third offense sentencing enhancement and a district court case of driving without a valid license will be dismissed. The habitual offender sentencing enhancement could have increased the maximum penalty for the underlying offense by 1.5 times.

According to court documents, the conviction stems from an incident that took place in Harbor Springs in July 2015. According to a Harbor Springs Police Department affidavit filed in the case, officers pulled Graham’s vehicle over on Main Street near Gardner Street after another driver called 9-1-1 reporting a vehicle matching the description of Graham’s “driving all over the road” and nearly hitting the caller’s vehicle from behind.

Police said when they stopped Graham she had watery, bloodshot eyes with fixed pupils and that she had balance problems when the officers conducted a field sobriety test. Police said Graham admitted having smoked marijuana before driving and that they found a glass smoking pipe and an empty syringe in the car she was driving.

Blood tests found the presence of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) and amphetamine in Graham’s system at the time of her arrest, according to the affidavit.

Graham has prior convictions for driving while intoxicated in 2002 and 2011 and convictions for attempted resisting and obstructing police, possession of marijuana and use of a controlled substance in 2011, all in Emmet County. She is also still on probation for a 2014 conviction of maintaining a drug house in 13th Circuit Court in Traverse City.

The case had been set for a three-day trial that would have started on March 16. Graham will be sentenced on the new conviction at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 19. Because of the newest conviction, she could also face a probation violation on the maintaining a drug house convicti

Graham’s license to practice law is currently suspended because of her criminal convictions.

Petoskeynews.com had a story about a 2011 encounter with the law

 Emmet County prosecutor Jim Linderman previously told the Petoskey News-Review that Graham pleaded guilty to one count of attempted assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, a misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of one year and/or a $1,000 fine; one count of controlled substance possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of one year and/or a $2,000 fine; one count of operating while intoxicated, a misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail and/or a $100 to $500 fine and/or 360 hours of community service; and two counts of controlled substance use, a misdemeanor offense with a maximum penalty of one year in jail and, or a $1,000 fine.

In 2002, Graham was convicted of operating while intoxicated, first offense, court records show.

There have been any number of cases where an attorney has been busted for bringing drugs into a secure facility. I do not recall any where the recipient was an already jailed lawyer. (Mike Frisch)