Court Reporter License Revoked
A court reporter’s license has been revoked by the Kansas Supreme Court.
Findings of the State Board of Examiners of Court Reporters
In October, 2017, Respondent attempted to blackmail her former boyfriend, deputy [M.B.], by threatening to ‘out’ him to ‘everyone’ and to ‘blast [his] ass all over Facebook’ if he did not pay her $2,000.
Respondent threatened to publish ‘pictures, emails, everything,’ and demanded [M.B.] ‘pay up’ if he wanted her to ‘keep [her] mouth closed.’
Pictures of texts sent from Respondent to [M.B.] were admitted as Exhibit A, and read as follows:
‘On October 25, 2017:
‘[7:32 PM] Respondent: I need $2,000.
‘[7:33 PM] Respondent: What’s your daughter’s number?
‘[7:35 PM]Respondent: That’s okay. I have her Facebook accounts.
‘[7:36 PM] Respondent: If you don’t pay me $2,000 by the end of this week,
I’m letting everyone know about you, plain and simple.
‘[7:36 PM] Respondent: I have pictures, emails, everything. If you want me to
keep my mouth closed, pay up.
‘[7:37 PM] Respondent: I will blast your ass all over my Facebook and I have
thousands of friends. No sweat off my back, just elation.
‘[7:39 PM] Respondent: You can make this difficult all you want, but please
know I’m outing you if I don’t get the money.
‘[7:39 PM] Respondent:
‘On October 26, 2017:
‘[Unknown] Respondent: And you can talk to your friends all you want to. I
will tell everyone that you and a lady named Crystal or Christina we’re [sic]
helping spread . . .’
On or about October 28, 2017, Respondent sent to [M.B.’s] daughter’s phone what he described as derogatory pictures.
A complaint was filed by Judge Lampson and efforts were made to serve the accused
On June 26, 2018, Investigator Morgan located Respondent at the Clay County Courthouse in Liberty, Missouri, and served her with a letter from the Board containing the Lampson Complaint.
Respondent read the Lampson Complaint, and said to Investigator Morgan: ‘Fuck you. And tell Judge Lampson: “Fuck you!”
There was no further response.
Also
On July 14, 2018, Respondent committed several assaults at a shelter in Missouri.
Respondent slammed a child’s fingers in a door, and called the child an ‘ugly asshole.’
Respondent got into a verbal argument with [L.Y.], another resident at the shelter.
Respondent became aggressive, and began shoving a shelter employee.
In the lobby of the shelter, Respondent threatened multiple residents, stating: ‘I can kill you.’ ‘You are all dope heads that use the system[,]’ and ‘I can get back in no problem.’
Respondent told one girl she was ‘going to fuck her up.
She was charged with assault.
The court
The Board carries the burden of proof to establish by clear and convincing evidence that its rules were violated, through (a) Belcher’s commission of a felony; and/or (b) Belcher’s commission of a misdemeanor that relates to her position as a court reporter or that erodes confidence in the integrity of the court system; and/or (c) Belcher’s failure to cooperate in, or her obstruction of, the Board’s investigation of the complaints against her.
No convictions
We acknowledge there was testimony concerning Belcher’s actions that indicate crimes may have been committed for which she could be convicted. But the issue is not whether we approve of her actions; the issue is the degree to which the facts clearly and convincingly establish that a certain point of accountability has been crossed. We cannot tell from the rule where that point is located. Disciplinary proceedings based merely on charges that a court reporter committed a crime, without a subsequent conviction, must be careful not to presume guilt. This aligns with principles that ensure a court reporter is not disciplined without clear and convincing evidence of misconduct, which a mere charge does not provide. If conviction is required, conviction has not been proved, and thus Belcher would not have violated the disciplinary rule. Since resolution of this question would not change the discipline here, we will not address this issue and leave it unresolved for now.
Failure to cooperate
While court reporter discipline has no counterpart to the ABA Standards for lawyers, we are similarly guided by their commonsense approach. Here, the ethical duty violated by respondent was her duty to cooperate with the Board’s investigation of the complaints against her and not to obstruct the Board’s efforts in that regard.
Sanction
Having considered all matters necessarily raised and proven, we find the appropriate discipline is revocation of Belcher’s certificate as a certified court reporter.
(Mike Frisch)