DUIs Draw Suspension

A now-former judge has been suspended for two years for two driving under the influence convictions.

ROGERS COUNTY CASE, CM-2021-235

On February 7, 2021, Respondent was arrested and charged in Rogers County, Oklahoma with a DUI and Actual Physical Control of a Motor Vehicle Under the Influence of Alcohol. Her blood alcohol content level was .35 upon her arrest. She pleaded guilty to Actual Physical Control (misdemeanor), as the District Attorney dismissed the DUI charge. Respondent admits that she entered a plea of guilty, and a finding of guilt was deferred for three years from May 7, 2021, to May 7, 2024, with rules and conditions of probation ordered by the district court. Probation included requiring Respondent to write an apology letter to the Claremore Police Department, complete all Bar Association requirements, and continue with current alcohol treatments. The Bar Association filed A Notice of Criminal Conviction with this Court on May 19, 2021.

The Court declined to impose an immediate interim suspension on September 13, 2021, and requested the Respondent show cause regarding a final order of discipline. In her show-cause answer, Respondent waived her right to a hearing with a panel of the Professional Responsibility Tribunal. She attached her mitigating evidence, including her statement that she resigned from the bench, an apology letter to those involved in her arrest, a notice she published in the Claremore paper apologizing to the citizens of Rogers County, inpatient treatment results, and future treatment plans. An Order dismissing for insufficient cause to proceed with a Rule 7 proceeding was filed on November 1, 2021, by the Court. Respondent reports that she then “establish[ed] a private practice where she worked for a [year and a half] before closing [the] practice and traveling in an RV to do seasonal work.”

MESA COUNTY, COLORADO CASE 22T966

Eleven months after entering her plea of guilty in Rogers County and five months after the Court declined to discipline her formally, Respondent was arrested and charged with a DUI on April 8, 2022, in Mesa County, Colorado, having a blood alcohol content of .186. She entered a plea of guilty to misdemeanor DUI on August 8, 2022. Respondent admits that she entered a plea of guilty. The Colorado court entered a finding of guilt. It sentenced her to twelve months’ probation with rules and conditions. Probation requirements include work hours, MADD VIP, an alcohol evaluation and following all evaluation recommendations, not possessing any drugs or alcohol, and random drug testing. The Oklahoma Bar Association filed a Notice of Criminal Conviction with this Court on February 23, 2023.

Due to Respondent’s arrest and conviction in Colorado, on June 21, 2022 the District Attorney in Rogers County filed an Application to Accelerate Respondent’s deferred sentence in her Oklahoma case. Respondent appeared on April 21, 2023, in Rogers County district court and stipulated that her conduct in the Colorado case amounted to a violation of her Rogers County probation. A hearing was set on May 26, 2023.

This Court entered an Order imposing an immediate interim suspension on March 20, 2023. In entering the suspension, the Court determined that Respondent’s crimes facially demonstrate her unfitness to practice law. The Order of Interim Suspension gave Respondent the ability to show cause in writing why a final order of discipline should not be entered, and allowed her to request a hearing or to file a brief with any evidence tending to mitigate the severity of discipline.

Sanction

The Court commends Respondent for again seeking help for her alcohol dependency. In recovery, the Respondent must focus on overcoming her addiction and completing her probationary requirements in two States. Although Respondent assures that she will not practice law during her recovery, the Court, out of responsibility to the public and the profession’s integrity, must guarantee that promise by suspending her license. That guarantee is necessary after Respondent relapsed in such a short period while on probation in Oklahoma, and after this Court chose to lift the interim suspension of her license and declined to discipline her.

Justices Combs and Darby would disbar. (Mike Frisch)