This is not the first time we have seen this example of "how not to practice law," but there are two interesting questions. In this particular instance, discussed in the Legal Profession Blog, the lawyer was charged with "attempting" to violate rule 1.1 on competence. So my first question is: why charge with attempt to violate a rule? Can't we argue that appearing drunk before the court in and of itself constitutes incompetence?
The second question is common to many cases: what should be the proper sanction? Is it a mitigating factor if the lawyer has a health problem, mental health problem or issues with alcohol? Is it an aggravating factor? In this case, the lawyer also had a history of disciplinary sanctions; yet, the sanction was reduced from 90 days to 30 days.
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