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Ethics

Lawyer suspended after arguing cocaine enhanced his cognition

By Debra Cassens Weiss

November 7, 2024, 11:55 am CST

A former public defender accused of representing a client at a November 2022 preliminary hearing while under the influence of cocaine has received a suspension of a year and a day.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended Erie, Pennsylvania, lawyer Nathaniel Edmond Strasser in a Nov. 6 order, the Erie Times-News reports.

While representing himself in the disciplinary case, Strasser focused on the idea that cocaine enhanced his performance as an attorney, according to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s disciplinary board. Its Aug. 7 report and recommendation was attached to the state supreme court order.

Strasser raised the issue when cross-examining Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Chris Weber. The officer is a drug recognition expert who noted that on the day of the preliminary hearing in November 2022, Strasser was hyperactive and fidgety, his pupils were dilated, his nose was bleeding, and one of his nostrils was hairless and inflamed.

Strasser tested positive for cocaine use after Weber confronted him following the preliminary hearing. He was fired from his job as an assistant public defender.

Cocaine “increases your awareness, correct?” Strasser asked during his cross-examination of Weber at the disciplinary hearing.

“Cocaine has a positive effect on one’s cognitive abilities in low doses,” Strasser continued. “My mental awareness was at a heightened state, not a lower state.”

Weber acknowledged that Strasser “had severe focus” on the day in question but said it appeared that he was “focusing on a hundred things and couldn’t quite figure out what was important at the time.”

Strasser had also stated that he wasn’t in a 12-step program because his “problems aren’t really addiction.”

Strasser later hired a lawyer in the disciplinary case, acknowledged that he was an addict and sought substance abuse probation. The disciplinary board refused, however, to reopen the case to allow evidence of his substance abuse and treatment from years ago.

Reopening the case “would set an untenable precedent, as it would allow other similarly situated respondents to take their chances at a hearing, assess the outcome, and if they are dissatisfied, reopen the record to present evidence that was readily available to be presented but was not,” the disciplinary board said.

Strasser “failed to accept responsibility for his misconduct, lacked appreciation that his appearance at a criminal proceeding on behalf of a client while under the influence of cocaine was harmful to his client and the integrity of the legal profession, and notably failed to express any remorse,” the disciplinary board said.

A mitigating factor was that Strasser has practiced law since 2007 with no prior discipline.

Strasser’s lawyer, Philip Friedman, did not immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s email seeking comment. Strasser did not immediately respond to a Journal voicemail.

Lawyers and law students needing help for mental health issues or substance abuse disorders can contact their state lawyer assistance program. The ABA has published contact information here.

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3. Suspended judge’s bond revoked after she…

Judiciary

Suspended judge’s bond revoked after she tests positive for cocaine

By Debra Cassens Weiss

March 29, 2024, 9:47 am CDT

A suspended criminal court judge has been booked into a Memphis, Tennessee, jail after she tested positive for cocaine while awaiting a trial on charges of coercing a witness and harassment.

Judge Roy Morgan of Tennessee revoked bond for Judge A. Melissa Boyd of Shelby County, Tennessee, on Wednesday, report the Associated Press and the Commercial Appeal.

Besides facing criminal charges, Boyd has received two public reprimands since she became a judge in September 2022. She was criminally charged in December with harassment and trying to coerce or influence her former campaign manager to testify falsely, or to withhold truthful testimony, in an official proceeding. The trial is scheduled for April 24.

A lawyer for Boyd, Arthur Horne III, told Morgan on Wednesday that his client was “in a full relapse,” and that was the reason that she had not responded to an offer of a plea deal, according to the Commercial Appeal. She was released from a rehabilitation facility in late February.

Boyd was reprimanded in early May 2023 for a social media post in which the judge solicited charitable contributions while picturing herself in a judicial robe, according to the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct.

During that investigation, the board received affidavits from Boyd’s former campaign manager, a woman who had a close personal relationship with Boyd, who said she discovered what appeared to be cocaine in Boyd’s home and told her to get help.

The woman also said she woke up one morning and saw Boyd sitting in a car outside her house and taking pictures. Boyd allegedly accused the campaign manager of having a “whore” inside her home and appeared to be intoxicated. Boyd also allegedly texted the woman a picture of her prior marriage license and information about her divorce.

The former campaign manager told the conduct board that Boyd had asked her to withdraw her complaint.

The former campaign manager also recorded a conversation in which Boyd admitted that she occasionally used cocaine, the judicial conduct board said. As a result of illegal drug use, Boyd received a negotiated suspension on May 22, 2023. It was released as a public reprimand Oct. 31, 2023, because Boyd did not follow through with a promise to quickly address her substance abuse problems.

Boyd has been receiving full pay since her suspension in May 2023, according to the judicial conduct board, which is recommending Boyd’s removal. The Tennessee General Assembly has scheduled a vote on the recommendation for April 4.

Boyd has been receiving about $17,000 per month during her suspension, according to the Commercial Appeal.