No Referral For Animal Cruelty

The Nevada Supreme Court declined to refer a misdemeanor offense for a bar investigation “at this time”

This is a petition under SCR 111 concerning attorney Jeffrey L. Eskin, based on a conviction of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor. According to the documents provided with the petition, Eskin entered a nolo contendere plea, the court stayed adjudication for one year with conditions, and the offense will be amended to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct upon compliance with those conditions. Eskin self-reported the conviction to the State Bar as required by SCR 111(2). See SCR 111(1) (providing that “conviction” includes a plea of nolo contendere “regardless of whether a sentence is suspended or deferred or whether a final judgment of conviction has been entered”).

The court

Although the offense at issue here—misdemeanor animal cruelty—cannot be taken lightly, it does not meet the criteria in SCR 111(6) to trigger a mandatory suspension and referral for disciplinary proceedings. And, having considered the petition and supporting documentation, we decline to exercise our discretionary authority under SCR 111(9) to refer Eskin to a disciplinary board at this time.

The order is in IN THE MATTER OF DISCIPLINE OF JEFFREY L. ESKIN.

Interim suspension was imposed – but stayed – in an unrelated matter involving misdemeanor theft

In particular, Santana explains the crime involved a package belonging to a neighbor that was mistakenly delivered to Santana’s home, which she ultimately returned to the sender, and argues that the crime thus does not involve conduct that poses a danger to clients, the courts, or the public and is unlikely to result in significant discipline. Having considered Santana’s arguments and the factors set forth in Treffinger, we agree that there is good cause to stay the interim suspension required by SCR 111(7).

Based on Santana’s conviction for misdemeanor theft, we suspend Santana from the practice of law in Nevada pending final disposition of a disciplinary proceeding and refer this matter to the Southern Nevada Disciplinary Board. We stay the suspension conditioned on the absence of any further disciplinary offenses.

The order is in IN THE MATTER OF DISCIPLINE OF SUSANA SANTANA. (Mike Frisch)