Disbarred For Violation Of Criminal Probation
A tri-county hearing panel order of disbarment from the Michigan Attorney Disciplinary Board
Respondent pled guilty to a probation violation of her March 2016 conviction of operating a vehicle with the presence of a controlled substance, and operating under the influence of liquor, per se, 3rd offense, in People of the State of Michigan v Susan Gail Graham, 57th Circuit Court Case No. 15-004271-FH-P; and her conviction to the charges of Prisoner Possessing Contraband, contrary to MCl 801.2632 and Habitual Offender (4th offense), contrary to MCl 769.12, in People of the State of Michigan v Susan Gail Graham, 57th Circuit Court Case No. 16-004435-FH-P. In accordance with MCR 9.120(8)(1), respondent’s license to practice law in Michigan was automatically suspended effective December 20,2016, the date of respondent’s felony conviction. The panel found that respondent committed professional misconduct that violated criminal laws of this state, contrary to MCR 9.104(5).
Petoskey News-Review reported on the crime.
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.
And also reported on the probation violation
In March, Graham pleaded guilty to the drugged driving charge as part of a plea agreement with the Emmet County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and was sentenced to a year in jail and five years probation. However, on Oct. 27, after being out of the jail on work release for the day, she returned to the jail intoxicated, registering a 0.167 percent blood alcohol content on the jail’s breath test equipment.
In the instance of a probation violation, the judge has the option of reconsidering the original sentence in the case and re-sentencing the defendant up to the statutory maximum of the underlying offense. In this case, what had been a county jail term, became a state prison term. Graham will get credit for 290 days she’s already served on the earlier conviction.
Because the more recent prisoner in possession of contraband happened while Graham was in jail, it was mandatory that the sentence for the more recent conviction be served consecutively to the sentence for the earlier crime.
When her opportunity to speak came during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Graham said apologized for her actions and said that no one is more frustrated her situation than she is.
“I have so much remorse and regret,” Graham said. “It’s not for myself. It’s for my (family). They stand behind me … I can live with the consequences of my actions, but it’s the effect on others that I regret the most.”
“Without that I’m going to wind up right back here, and I’m going to wind up in prison for the rest of my life,” she said.
Before sentencing Graham, Judge Johnson noted that he is very familiar with Graham from her time working as an attorney in the area. He said, “It’s the court’s perspective that it’s very sad and tragic that her life has taken the turn that it has.” He described Graham as “smart” and “very intelligent,” but noted that she has struggled with substance abuse for a long time and has been afforded many opportunities to deal with her addictions and been granted leniency in her previous court cases.
Judge Johnson said his sentence is was intended not only to serve as punishment to Graham, but also as a deterrent to others who might consider taking abusing the privilege of work release while in jail.
(Mike Frisch)