AR-15 Couple Discover Pardons Can’t Save Law Licenses From Probation

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Screenshot via Twitter

Everyone’s favorite gun-waving neighbors Mark and Patricia McCloskey discovered yesterday that the Missouri Supreme Court is less willing than the state’s governor to look the other way to score political points.

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The McCloskeys barged into our collective consciousness after Mark showed up as Club Casual Tony Montana ranting at pedestrian protestors walking past his house. Patricia armed herself with a pistol for good measure and the couple became right-wing media darlings for “standing up” to… people on the sidewalk.

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Unfortunately for the McCloskeys, the castle doctrine doesn’t apply to using guns on your property to menace people not on your property, so prosecutors slapped them with felony charges under the state law making it illegal to “Exhibit[], in the presence of one or more persons, any weapon readily capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner.” They would eventually plead guilty to misdemeanors and then immediately renounce that they felt any remorse.

Governor Mike Parson took a break from trying to put people in prison for understanding the internet to pardon the McCloskeys and shore up his conservative bona fides.

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But pardons don’t mean the crime didn’t happen, and the state’s chief disciplinary counsel instituted an action against the couple’s law licenses citing the guilty plea as proof that each committed an offense involving moral turpitude.

Yesterday, the Missouri Supreme Court suspended the licenses of Mark and Patricia indefinitely, citing the moral turpitude angle. The order is stayed pending the completion of a one-year probationary period where they both have to keep their noses clean and perform 100 hours of pro bono services.

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Frankly, the couple is lucky the justices didn’t zero in on the post-plea renunciation of remorse — an act that the initial complaint claimed “demonstrated disrespect for the judicial process.” From a lawyerly perspective, that seems like a more direct affront to the profession.

With this behind him, Mark can return to his Senate campaign where he’s… probably going to get crushed. The problem with having AR-15 minutes of fame is it doesn’t last forever.

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Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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Crime, Guns / Firearms, Legal Ethics, Mark McCloskey, Patricia McCloskey