The elected district legal professional in Colorado’s eleventh Judicial District launched a baseless investigation of a choose after turning into pissed off by his unfavorable rulings within the high-profile Barry Morphew homicide case, state authorities alleged in a disciplinary grievance filed Monday.
District Legal professional Linda Stanley pursued a home violence investigation into then-District Decide Ramsey Lama after he issued a sequence of rulings towards prosecutors in the course of the case towards Morphew, who was charged on the time with killing his then-missing spouse Suzanne Morphew in a prosecution that later was dropped.
The eleventh Judicial District contains Fremont, Chaffee, Park and Custer counties.
Stanley ordered an investigator along with her workplace to interview the choose’s ex-wife about whether or not the choose had ever been abusive throughout their marriage, and whether or not that rumored historical past is likely to be influencing his rulings within the Morphew case, in line with a 20-page formal disciplinary grievance filed towards Stanley on Monday by the state’s Workplace of Legal professional Regulation Counsel, the entity answerable for investigating skilled misconduct by Colorado attorneys. The company opened an investigation into Stanley earlier this yr.
“We couldn’t perceive Decide Lama’s orders that have been so egregious towards us, and he’s usually not like that,” Stanley stated, in line with the grievance. “And we have been discussing what’s happening, and people two got here collectively. And I stated, let’s see if we will get someone to interview (Lama’s ex-wife) to see if there was one thing happening or if she suspects that he’s making an attempt to get again at her, basically, in nearly a passive-aggressive approach by making this case not possible to prosecute… So we needed to see if she would say something to us about any of that or if these actions by the choose could also be nearly a passive-aggressive transfer at her.”
Stanley pursued the investigation into the choose even after the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Workplace declined to research, citing a scarcity of a reputable report. The choose’s ex-wife denied any abuse occurred and denied that Lama ever spoke along with her concerning the Morphew case.
Legal professionals with the Workplace of Legal professional Regulation Counsel now allege Stanley’s actions violated the state’s skilled conduct requirements for attorneys as a result of she was making an attempt to unethically affect the case towards Morphew.
“Respondent used her place and workplace’s sources in a way meant to stop others, together with Decide Lama, from successfully performing their roles within the felony justice system,” the grievance reads.
The disciplinary company additionally took concern with Stanley’s feedback to varied media shops throughout Morphew’s prosecution, and particularly to at least one true-crime podcast. Stanley additionally posted quite a few inappropriate feedback on social media concerning the prosecution, the grievance alleges.
Moreover, authorities allege Stanley didn’t correctly supervise her workplace and treatment discovery violations in the course of the Morphew prosecution. In all, the state alleges Stanley violated seven separate guidelines {of professional} conduct for attorneys.
The formal grievance, filed with the Colorado Supreme Court docket’s Workplace of Presiding Disciplinary Decide, merely lays out allegations towards Stanley. She’s going to now have the possibility to counter the allegations, and may select to settle the disciplinary case towards her or pursue an evidentiary listening to.
Stanley may face self-discipline starting from public censure to a short lived or everlasting revocation of her regulation license.
She didn’t return a request for remark Tuesday.
Stanley dropped all expenses towards Barry Morphew in April 2022 after prosecutors egregiously violated discovery guidelines and Lama blocked the prosecution from utilizing most of its skilled witnesses at trial as punishment.
On the time, Suzanne Morphew was nonetheless lacking. However the 49-year-old’s stays have been found in September in a shallow grave close to Moffat, a few 45-minute drive from her residence in Maysville, the place she was final seen alive earlier than she was reported lacking on Might 10, 2020.
The physique was present in Saguache County — within the twelfth Judicial District — so if a brand new prosecution ever have been to be introduced, it could possibly be dealt with by twelfth Judicial District Legal professional Anne Kelley, moderately than Stanley.
Barry Morphew has maintained his innocence. Following the invention of his spouse’s stays, his legal professional Iris Eytan launched an announcement saying she hoped authorities would “rapidly admit their wrongful persecution of Barry, an harmless man, deal with the Morphews just like the victims they’re and cost the particular person(s) answerable for Suzanne’s killing.”
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