Missouri’s Supreme Court Thinks That Disbarment Is Too Serious A Punishment For A Lawyer Who Assaulted 6 Of His Clients

// Defense attorneys play an important role in our legal system. No matter how presumed innocent you are, going pro se is generally not the best decision. The need for counsel is even more important for defendants who can’t afford to pay for a lawyer of their own. When people think of lawyers as public servants, defense attorneys are usually who they have in mind. Which makes it that much more dastardly when a lawyer uses that position to take advantage of their clients. From STL Today:

The Missouri Supreme Court won’t disbar a defense attorney who sexually assaulted six clients, including episodes of unwanted kissing and touching captured on video, leading one judge to issue a scathing dissent denouncing the court’s decision.

In a 4-3 decision, the state’s high court ruled Tuesday that Dan K. Purdy, an Osceola-based attorney, will be indefinitely suspended from practicing law but allowed to apply for reinstatement after a year. A disciplinary hearing panel had recommended Purdy be disbarred.

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“There may have been a time when a temporary suspension was an adequate punishment for sexually assaulting or harassing a client, vulnerable or otherwise … but, in my view, that time is long gone,” Judge Zel Fischer wrote in his dissent.

How the hell did four jurists on any state’s high court think this slap on the wrist was apropos? Assuming that these six clients are the only ones that he assaulted, being able to apply for reinstatement means that he’s suspended for what, 61 days a person? To make matters even more shameful, the people he was supposed to be representing weren’t really in a position to give clear and uncoerced consent — the whole interacting with a person with authority while you’re in jail guts that a bit.

In September 2020, Purdy made sexual advances toward four clients in a Vernon County jail interview room, including touching and kissing, that were confirmed by video provided by the Vernon County Sheriff’s Office. Each woman was later interviewed by officers and told them Purdy’s advances were unwanted.

In March 2021, courtroom video footage in St. Clair County showed Purdy touching a clients’ buttocks. The court opinion notes the client submitted an affidavit that she believed Purdy didn’t touch her inappropriately.

Later that year, Purdy was transporting a client in his vehicle, according to the opinion. Video from the client’s phone shows Purdy, while driving, reach across the seat and touch the client’s breast under her blouse. The opinion says the client said the sexual contact was unwanted.

This conduct is so out of line that even the majority opted not to sugarcoat Purdy’s misconduct:

“Purdy not only attempted to sexually assault female clients, he actually did so. Purdy’s assaults happened multiple times with multiple clients in multiple situations over an extended period of time,” Draper wrote in the majority opinion.

“Purdy’s unwanted sexual assaults happened in the jail, in open court, and in his private vehicle. Further, Purdy’s clients either did not know or did not realize they could repudiate his sexual advances. Purdy fails to grasp the severity of his conduct or these charges.”

Given this, it is natural to ask why the court responded with such leniency. As is to be expected, at the root of outcomes like this lie tradition:

Still, Draper wrote that the discipline is consistent with what the court has issued in response to past sexual misconduct by lawyers. And he noted the discipline is more severe than what Purdy has requested.

So what’s the threshold for a reinstatement requirement longer than a year? Seven people in jail relying on you not abusing them rather than six?

I think that Judge Fischer’s dissent puts the matter succinctly.

“Anything less than disbarment won’t protect the public or legal profession.”

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Missouri Supreme Court Won’t Disbar Defense Attorney Who Sexually Assaulted Six Women [STL Today]

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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

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Courts, Dan K. Purdy, Legal Ethics, Missouri, Sexual Assault