Opinion ID: 2222122
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: private investigator falkner count sixteen

Text: ¶ 43. The OLR complaint alleges, and Sherry now stipulates, that Sherry hired Gerald Falkner, a private investigator, to perform investigative work in three public defender cases in which Sherry had been appointed as defense counsel. Sherry and Falkner agreed that Falkner would wait to receive payment for his services until after Sherry had been paid Falkner's costs by the state public defender's office. ¶ 44. Sherry thereafter received payments for the investigations from the state public defender's office in those three cases in the amount of $316.81, § $187.33, and $519, respectively. Sherry cashed those checks but failed to forward the money to Falkner despite Falkner's numerous attempts to obtain the money. Falkner did not receive his payments until late 2001. ¶ 45. This course of conduct led to count 16 in the OLR complaint to which Sherry now stipulates.
¶ 46. By failing to promptly deliver to Falkner the funds from the state public defender's office that Falkner was entitled to receive, Sherry failed to promptly deliver to a third person funds that that person was entitled to receive, in violation of SCR 20:1.15(b).