False Denial Of Possession Charge Draws Censure

The Kansas Supreme Court has censured an attorney who in 2005 had been arrested for marijuana possession while in law school and falsely characterized the incident when he ran for judicial office.

He was unaware of the charges when he relocated to Kansas and applied for bar admission

Unbeknownst to the respondent, on July 1, 2005, the Ingham County, Michigan, prosecutor filed a complaint, charging the respondent with one count of misdemeanor possession of marijuana. A warrant for the respondent’s arrest was issued that day.

In the Kansas application process

In November 2005, the respondent filed his petition for admission to the bar of the State of Kansas. According to the respondent, while the respondent’s application was pending, the respondent’s attorney sent the respondent a letter. In the letter, the respondent’s attorney informed the respondent that no charges had been filed and the attorney was closing the matter. The respondent cannot recall the name of the attorney and did not retain a copy of the letter. The respondent took the Kansas bar examination in February 2006.

 He was admitted but

In 2014, the respondent ran for a district court judge position in the Sixteenth Judicial District of Kansas. The respondent faced competition in the Republican primary. The election was scheduled for August 4, 2014.

On July 15, 2014, a Dodge City Daily Globe reporter contacted the respondent and told him that an anonymous source had informed the newspaper that the respondent had an outstanding arrest warrant in Ingham County, Michigan.

 The attorney late responded to disciplinary counsel and resolved the criminal matter with a disorderly persons offense but

On July 22, 2014, the respondent falsely stated, to a Dodge City Daily Globe reporter, that he was not the person stopped during the March 20, 2005, incident. The respondent stated that his identification had been stolen a short time before the incident…

 The respondent’s statements to the Dodge City Daily Globe reporter were published on the Dodge City Daily Globe’s website and republished by the Associated Press and the Witchita Eagle.

On July 23, 2014, while speaking at a judicial candidate forum, the respondent publicly misrepresented that he was not the individual stopped during the March 20, 2005, incident.

On July 24, 2014, the respondent posted in the Dodge City dodgeboard.com, an online forum. The respondent’s post contained false statements.

He admitted the misconduct in the bar proceeding

The only remaining issue before us is the appropriate discipline for respondent’s violations. At the panel hearing, at which the respondent appeared, the office of the Disciplinary Administrator recommended that the respondent be suspended for a period of 1 year. Respondent recommended published censure. The hearing panel also recommended public censure.

At the hearing before this court, the office of the Disciplinary Administrator again recommended a 1-year suspension, and the respondent asked us to follow the hearing panel’s recommendation of public censure. While a minority of this court would impose a more severe discipline, a majority of the court agrees with the hearing panel’s recommendation that published censure is the appropriate remedy in this case.

 Video of oral argument linked here. (Mike Frisch)