Permanent Disbarment

The Louisiana Supreme Court ordered permanent disbarment in two cases last week. One matter involved an attorney convicted of federal drug and state medicaid fraud charges. The second case involved an attorney who "in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina...made Internet contact with a person whom he believed to be a thirteen-year old evacuee from New Orleans." The contact was an investigator conducting an online cover operation. Additional incriminating evidence was found on the attorney's computer hard drive. The attorney pled guilty to felony carnal knowledge (based on a sexual relationship with a 15 year-old) and felony computer-aided solicitation of a minor.

Both cases refer to the court's permanent disbarment guidelines in reaching the conclusion that disbarment with the possibility of eventual reinstatement was an insufficient sanction. (MIke Frisch)