Lego Sets, MLB Cards, John Deere Play Tractors
The Colorado Hearing Board imposed a partially-stayed suspension and probation for practice while suspended and a criminal matter
Following a disciplinary hearing, a hearing board suspended Patrick Westman (attorney registration number 42606) for one year and one day, with six months to be served and six months and one day to be stayed pending Westman’s successful completion of a two-year period of probation, which carries conditions. Westman’s suspension is scheduled to take effect on May 24, 2024.
Westman neglected to fulfill his continuing legal education requirements. Unbeknownst to him, his law license was administratively suspended in 2021. He then inadvertently engaged in the unauthorized practice of law before realizing his error and rectifying the situation. In a separate matter, Westman engaged in criminal conduct when, at a self-checkout terminal at a local Walmart store, he failed to scan and pay for numerous items and then departed the self-scan area in the direction of the store’s exit.
Checking out
On August 9, 2020, shortly before 5:18 p.m., Respondent was shopping inside a Walmart Supercenter in Littleton. He loaded a cart with items and then proceeded to the self-checkout area of the store. He scanned and paid for some of the items in his cart. But Respondent did not scan all of the items in the cart. After he paid for the scanned items, he left the self-scan area and began walking toward the store’s exit. Walmart’s Loss Prevention Officer Dijon Thomas intercepted him and escorted him to the loss prevention office. Thomas examined the contents of Respondent’s cart and compiled a list of more than three dozen items that he concluded Respondent had failed to scan and pay for. Thomas also summoned the local police.
Police officer Cody Erickson responded
Erickson concluded that Respondent had stolen the following items: one grass spreader, one target, one Spark Elite, two Lego sets, two MLB cards, one bag of “pellets,” one area light, one plant bracket, eight planters, one game add-on, one oval tub, one Coke, five John Deere play tractors, ten nail pegs, three one-gallon jugs of distilled water, one “oblong,” two lights, one cord clip, and one fastener. The pre-tax total price of the nonscanned items was $244.50. Erickson testified that because he believed a person could not have mistakenly failed to scan so many items, he concluded Respondent had intended to steal them. As such, Erickson issued Respondent a summons for theft, a third-degree misdemeanor, citing C.R.S. section 18-4-401(1)(A). Respondent signed the summons and was served with trespass paperwork by Thomas, who then escorted Respondent off the property.
Respondent pleaded guilty to criminal mischief.
The hearing board discussed his career track and personal issues
The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated his underlying mental health struggles, he said, particularly because he could not spend time with his mother, whom he describes as his best friend, confidant, and closest remaining family member. He began taking antidepressants. But Respondent’s issues worsened and developed into severe sleeping problems. According to Respondent, he has gone four days without sleep at a stretch. He was prescribed trazodone for sleep a couple of months before the Walmart incident, but he hated that it made him feel groggy. He continues to battle this problem.
As discussed above, Respondent’s testimony leaves the chronology of these personal and emotional problems somewhat murky. Even so, we are persuaded that at least some of these problems are temporally and causally linked to Respondent’s criminal conduct and his unauthorized practice of law. We apply this factor and give it average weight.
(Mike Frisch)