Lawyer's Lie Re Her Claim to Channel Thoughts of the Dead to Client Results in 1-Year Suspension
A hearing officer had recommended only a six-month suspension for Arizona attorney Charna Johnson, who admittedly had claimed to serve as a medium channeling the thoughts of a client’s dead wife to him but denied sexual involvement with the man.
But the disciplinary commission of the state supreme court said a one-year suspension was merited, based on additional misconduct, and Arizona’s top court agreed. Because Johnson lied in another disciplinary proceeding and said she had not claimed to channel the dead to a female client for whom she drafted a will that left the client’s assets to herself, the punishment was increased, explains the Arizona Supreme Court in a judgment and order (PDF) last month.
It relies on a disciplinary commission report (PDF) from October of last year.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “6-Month Suspension Urged for Lawyer Who Claimed to Channel Client’s Dead Wife”
