An interim suspension of an attorney has been ordered by the Tennessee Supreme Court for a recent conviction.

The Williamson Herald reported on the action

The Tennessee Supreme Court officially suspended Brentwood lawyer and Williamson County juvenile court judge candidate Connie Reguli from practicing law on Friday.

According to a release issued by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, Reguli was suspended pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Section 22.3, which states “an attorney who is a defendant in a criminal case involving a serious crime, … has entered a plea of nolo contendere or a plea of guilty or has been found guilty by verdict of the jury, or the trial court sitting without a jury, the Court shall enter an order immediately suspending the attorney. … Such suspension shall remain in effect pending final disposition of a disciplinary proceeding to be commenced upon such finding of guilt.”

The rule further states that an attorney suspended under those provisions can be reinstated immediately if the conviction is reversed. The final discipline to be imposed is also, under rule, handed down after a hearing by the board.

Reguli, who is a practicing attorney in Brentwood at Law Care Family Law Center, was found guilty by a Williamson County jury Wednesday of facilitation of felony – custodial interference, accessory after the fact – aiding and accessory after the fact – harboring. The charges stemmed from a 2018 case involving an endangered child alert that led to the missing girl and her mother, Wendy Hancock, of Smithville, Tennessee, being found at Reguli’s Brentwood home. Reguli was serving as Hancock’s attorney in a case in which Hancock was found guilty of custodial interference after a Department of Children’s Services investigation.

Reguli, who is facing incumbent Juvenile Court Judge Sharon Guffee in the May 3 Republican primary, must comply with the requirements of Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 9, Sections 28 and 30.4, regarding the obligations and responsibilities of suspended attorneys. She will be sentenced for the convictions handed down Wednesday on June 24. 

Original story posted April 20, 2022

Williamson County juvenile court judge candidate Connie Reguli was convicted Wednesday by a Williamson County jury on three counts in an August 2018 missing child case.

Reguli, who is a practicing attorney in Brentwood at Law Care Family Law Center, was found guilty on one count of facilitating custodial interference and two counts of accessory after the fact. The convictions could lead to her disbarment and potential disqualification from serving as a judge. She’s currently running against incumbent Williamson County Judicial Court Judge Sharon Guffee in the county Republican primary. It’s unclear if Reguli will stay in the race.

The 2018 case involved an endangered child alert that led to the missing girl and her mother, Wendy Hancock, of Smithville, Tennessee, being found at Reguli’s Brentwood home. Reguli was serving as Hancock’s attorney in a case in which Hancock was found guilty of custodial interference after a Department of Children’s Services investigation.

Reguli has repeatedly defended her actions and did so again Wednesday by taking the stand in her own defense in court.

She has also repeatedly made claims against DCS that the department is retaliating against her, and she said District Attorney General for the 21st Judicial District Kim Helper is intentionally ruining Reguli’s campaign against Guffee.

Before the August 2018 incident in which Reguli was convicted Wednesday, she appeared at a Williamson County Commission meeting in March of 2018 as part of a group asking for Guffee’s removal from the bench.

Reguli claimed her own daughter ran away with someone she met online, and Reguli filed a runaway petition in juvenile court. Reguli said the experience with the court caused “psychological damage” to her daughter through orders and demands of the court. Reguli also told the Herald in 2018 that Guffee was “abusive and condescending to parents.” 

“Parents are demonized by the court system,” Reguli added. 

Reguli has proclaimed herself “a warrior for families” in social media posts and on her campaign website, www.connieforjudge.org. Her campaign sent an email obtained by the Herald Wednesday afternoon in which a tagline linked to her website states “Connie Reguli Incorruptible.”

She has practiced law since 1994 and, according to the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee, has faced a slew of professional challenges, censures and suspensions. 

The Williamson County Bar Association also released a member survey of 2022 Williamson County judicial candidates on April 8 in which 58 WCBA members rated Reguli very poorly. 

WCBA members were asked to assess each candidate’s ethics, judicial temperament, general qualifications and knowledge of the law as “adequate,” “inadequate” or “I don’t know.” Reguli was rated as “inadequate” overwhelmingly in every category.

Reguli will be sentenced on June 24. She and her lawyer Paul Walwyn reportedly intend to appeal the ruling and file a motion for a new trial. 

(Mike Frisch)