Former Eckert Seamans Lawyer Accused of Bringing Cocaine into Courthouse
A lawyer who told reporters last year that he gave up his six-figure job at Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott to pursue justice is facing his own bout with the criminal justice system.
Keenan Dennard Holmes is accused of trying to bring cocaine into a Pittsburgh courthouse, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Police say that when Holmes was going through a court scanner, he emptied his pockets and placed a folded dollar bill containing cocaine into the bowl, the story says.
He was charged with carrying contraband into the courthouse and possession of a controlled substance, according to the story.
Last year Holmes said he gave up his law firm job to defend a high school student accused of selling Oxycontin to another youth who died from an overdose of the pain killer. At the time, Holmes said he was giving up his job to pursue the case. “How can I tell my kids to do the right thing if I don’t?” he said at the time.
The student was convicted by a juvenile court judge, but Holmes was able to win dismissal of a wrongful death suit in civil court, the Post-Gazette says.
Another big-firm refugee from Pennsylvania, Randall Sommovilla, formerly of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, was charged in another drug case this month. Sommovilla was accused of trying to smuggle drugs into a jail. He claimed another person had probably put the drugs in his clothing without his knowledge.
