Lawyer fights 'Scarlet S' of suspension in suit claiming state bar has unconstitutional authority
A controversial former lawyer is suing the Kentucky Bar Association and legal ethics officials for refusing to recognize his retirement, which has the effect of keeping his 60-day suspension in place.
The federal suit (PDF) by Eric Deters claims a Kentucky Bar disciplinary rule unconstitutionally allows bar counsel to oppose automatic reinstatement, which extends a suspension before a due process hearing is held. The Cincinnati Enquirer has coverage.
Deters withdrew his petition for reinstatement in Kentucky in April 2014 and announced his retirement there. Because Kentucky officials consider Deters’ suspension to be ongoing, suspensions imposed through reciprocal discipline in Ohio and Florida remain in place.
“Being suspended is the same as being branded with a Scarlet S,” Deters writes in the complaint.
The suspension was based on allegations of false statements in a libel suit and a separate civil suit involving a homebuilder, according to the Enquirer.
“Deters is no saint,” Deters writes in the complaint. “He is a sinner. But Deters is fit to practice law. Lawyers are not a choral of angels.”
His suit says ethics officials participated in more than 67 bar complaints against him, and he was able to defeat 61 of those complaints. He has served two suspensions of 30 days, as well as suspensions of 60 days and 61 days.
Deters’ suit also seeks damages for the defendants’ alleged “intentional, malicious and deliberate indifference to destroy him.”
