Practice Pointer: Don’t Leave Your Briefcase In The Courtroom (If There Are Drugs Inside)

The Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge disbarred an attorney for misconduct in several matters

Throughout 2015, Respondent agreed to represent six clients, but he abandoned them all. In three of those cases, Respondent knowingly converted client funds and has failed to refund at least $7,000.00 in unearned fees. Respondent appeared in court with methamphetamine, and officers later discovered more methamphetamine at Respondent’s house. Despite circumstantial evidence that Respondent was experiencing a difficult family situation, this Court cannot extend credit in mitigation because Respondent has failed to participate in this disciplinary matter. Respondent has spurned his obligations as a lawyer and demonstrated general disrespect of the legal system. He should be disbarred…

Stefani Arndt, an Adams County law clerk, found a briefcase that had been left in Judge Wellings’s courtroom overnight on October 30, 2015. Arndt determined the briefcase owner’s identity by looking through it and finding documents that revealed the case belonged to Respondent. A vial of white powder and a syringe were also in the briefcase; a field test by courthouse deputies identified the powder as methamphetamine. Respondent retrieved the briefcase later that day and confirmed that it was his.  

Relatedly, on November 25, 2015, Aurora police officer David A. Johnson responded to a domestic violence call at Respondent’s residence. Respondent’s husband and partner of ten years, Tyler Smith, told Officer Johnson that he had found methamphetamine and syringes in the home, and that when confronted about this discovery, Respondent assaulted him.   Respondent was not arrested, but officers seized the methamphetamine from the home.  Respondent thereby violated C.R.S. section 18-18-403.5, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a class-four felony.

The attorney was admitted in 2009. (Mike Frisch)