DWI Hit Parade!

This is just the kind of story that makes honest lawyers cringe and crooked lawyers run for cover…

From Tampa Bay Times
 TAMPA — As accusations of attorney misconduct wind their way through court, one lawyer said Monday he is done pleading the Fifth Amendment.
The promise comes two weeks after a jury ruled in favor of Bubba the Love Sponge Clem, awarding no damages to his radio rival, Todd “MJ” Schnitt.In a dramatic sideshow to the defamation trial, Schnitt attorney C. Philip Campbell was arrested Jan. 23 and faces a DUI charge after drinking and chatting at Malio’s Prime Steakhouse with a woman who didn’t disclose she was a paralegal for Adams & Diaco,…MORE

From Charlotte Observer
RALEIGH — James Crouch was an aggressive lawyer, but he proved to be a reckless client.
On Tuesday, the 46-year-old Wake County resident pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges in a DWI backdating scheme that ended the reign of a popular District Court judge and created a somber mood in a typically collegial courthouse.
As judges, lawyers, family and friends watched, Crouch became a felon and lost his law license the same day.
“It’s an amazing fall from grace for James,” said Joseph B. Cheshire V, the Raleigh attorney who defended him. “It’s been a hard fall that he will acknowledge at the time of his sentencing is one of his own doing.”
Defense attorneys Cheshire, Brad Bannon and Alan Schneider were ready to fight the charges lodged against Crouch in July. But last week, the team discovered that Crouch had altered records from some of the DWI cases at the crux of the allegations… MORE