Lafferty v. Jones

Syllabus

The plaintiff in error, counsel of record for the defendants in underlying consolidated tort actions, filed a writ of error challenging the trial court's order suspending him from the practice of law for a period of two weeks for violating the Rules of Professional Conduct. He claimed that the court's disciplinary order constituted an abuse of its discretion. Held: The trial court acted within its discretion in suspending the plaintiff in error from the practice of law for a period of two weeks, as the record revealed that the court carefully considered the facts relevant to its determination of an appropriate sanction, including various aggravating and mitigating factors, and, contrary to the plaintiff in error's contention, for which he cited no appellate authority, the court was not obligated to follow the American Bar Association's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, guide- lines that have not been formally adopted by the judges of this state. Argued October 23—officially released December 16, 2025