Opinion ID: 1351363
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Commission Report.

Text: Alan Bernard was admitted to practice law in Iowa in 1980. He maintained an office in Des Moines as a sole practitioner, and primarily engaged in criminal defense work. Unfortunately, Bernard developed an addiction to alcohol during his years of practice. To compound matters, he began using methamphetamine in 1999, and became addicted to the drug within a short period of time. In the months that followed, Bernard was frequently tardy for court appearances and, at other times, failed to appear without explanation. In January 2000, a judge reported his delinquent actions to the Board of Professional Ethics and Conduct by filing a written complaint. A few weeks later, Bernard was arrested by Marion County law enforcement officers for the crime of delivery of methamphetamine. He was subsequently charged with multiple counts of the crime. The arrest and prosecution were prominently reported by the print media. The Board promptly notified Bernard of the neglect complaint filed against him. Bernard submitted a written response to the Board. In his response, he denied any current or past methamphetamine substance abuse problem. In November 2000, Bernard was suspended from practicing law under Iowa Court Rule 121 for failing to file a client security statement with the Client Security and Attorney Disciplinary Commission, and to pay the annual fee. The following month, he pled guilty to two counts of an amended charge of possession of methamphetamine, a serious misdemeanor. Bernard was sentenced in January 2001. He was ordered to serve twenty days of a suspended jail sentence and was placed on probation for two years. Bernard entered a drug and alcohol treatment program following the sentencing. He completed the program and has regularly attended Alcoholics Anonymous meetings since that time. He has maintained his sobriety. He later moved to Cedar Rapids, where he began work as the director of stadium operations and sales for the Cedar Rapids Kernels baseball team, an affiliate of the Anaheim Angels. The Board filed a two-count complaint against Bernard on February 5, 2002. The first count alleged criminal misconduct involving possession of methamphetamine. The second count alleged two grounds of professional misconduct. The first was client neglect and the second involved making a false response to the Board. The false statement concerned his denial of a substance abuse problem in the written response to the original neglect complaint. Bernard admitted the allegations, including the false response to the Board. At the hearing before the Commission, Bernard testified he made the false statement because he was in denial of his drug problem at the time. The Commission concluded Bernard committed misconduct. It found the misconduct involving the criminal convictions for possession of methamphetamine violated Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility DR 1-102(A)(1) (violation of disciplinary rule) and (6) (conduct that adversely reflects on fitness to practice law). It found the conduct involving his late and missed court appearances and false statement to the Board violated DR 1-102(A)(1), (4) (conduct involving dishonesty or misrepresentation), (5) (conduct prejudicial to administration of justice), and (6) and DR 6-101(A)(3) (neglect of client's legal matter). The Commission recommended Bernard be suspended for one year.