Opinion ID: 2521248
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Pautler's Defense

Text: We are unpersuaded by Pautler's assertion that his deception of Neal was justified under the circumstances, and we underscore the rationale set forth in People v. Reichman, 819 P.2d 1035 (Colo.1991). There, a district attorney sought to bolster a police agent's undercover identity by faking the agent's arrest and then filing false charges against him. Id. at 1036. The DA failed to notify the court of the scheme. Id. We upheld a hearing board's imposition of public censure for the DA's participation in the ploy. Id. at 1039. [5] To support our holding in Reichman, we cited In re Friedman, 76 Ill.2d 392, 30 Ill. Dec. 288, 392 N.E.2d 1333 (1979). There, a prosecutor instructed two police officers to testify falsely in court in an attempt to collar attorneys involved in bribery. Friedman, 30 Ill.Dec. 288, 392 N.E.2d at 1334. A divided Illinois Supreme Court found such advice violated the ethics code despite the undeniably wholesome motive. Id. 30 Ill.Dec. 288, 392 N.E.2d at 1336. Similarly, in In re Malone, 105 A.D.2d 455, 480 N.Y.S.2d 603 (N.Y.App.Div.1984), a state attorney instructed a corrections officer, who was an informant in allegations against correctional officers abusing inmates, to lie to an investigative panel. Id. at 604-05. The instruction was purportedly to save the testifying officer from retribution by the other corrections officers. Id. Again, despite the laudable motive, the New York court upheld Malone's censure for breaking the code. Id. at 607-08. Thus, in Reichman, we rejected the same defense to Rule 8.4(c) that Pautler asserts here. We ruled that even a noble motive does not warrant departure from the Rules of Professional Conduct. Moreover, we applied the prohibition against deception a fortiori to prosecutors: District attorneys in Colorado owe a very high duty to the public because they are governmental officials holding constitutionally created offices. This court has spoken out strongly against misconduct by public officials who are lawyers. The respondent's responsibility to enforce the laws in his judicial district grants him no license to ignore those laws or the Code of Professional Responsibility. Reichman, 819 P.2d at 1038-39 (citations omitted). We stress, however, that the reasons behind Pautler's conduct are not inconsequential. In Reichman, we also stated, While the respondent's motives and the erroneous belief of other public prosecutors that the respondent's conduct was ethical do not excuse these violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility, they are mitigating factors to be taken into account in assessing the appropriate discipline. Id. at 1039. Hence, Reichman unambiguously directs that prosecutors cannot involve themselves in deception, even with selfless motives, lest they run afoul of Rule 8.4(c).