Both parties involved in a reprimand of Custer County’s prosecuting attorney have appealed the findings of an Idaho State Bar hearing committee.
The Idaho State Bar issued a public reprimand of Justin Oleson, following a March 28 decision by the bar’s professional conduct board. The reprimand relates to civil litigation in Oleson’s private law practice in Blackfoot. The bar association filed a complaint against Oleson last September, alleging actions that violated the bar’s rules of professional conduct. The state bar sought to have Oleson disbarred from the practice of law in Idaho when it filed that complaint.
The state bar filed a motion April 11 to alter or amend the hearing committee’s decision, Joseph Pirtle, bar counsel for the Idaho State Bar, said. The state bar argued that the hearing committee’s findings of facts didn’t match up with the conclusions of law it issued in the reprimand.
Oleson filed a motion on April 12, saying there was no evidence that he violated the three rules that the hearing committee said he violated. Oleson asked that the matter be dismissed, according to Pirtle.
The state bar hearing committee has two weeks from the dates the motions were filed to take action, Pirtle said. The committee has three options: grant the motions, deny the motions or set a hearing on the motions.
The reprimand of Oleson concluded that he violated the bar’s rule regarding a conflict of interest in representing a client. It also concluded Oleson violated the rule that states “a lawyer shall not knowingly disobey an obligation under the rules of a tribunal, except for an open refusal based on an assertion that no valid obligation exists,” related to direction he gave his client regarding obtaining money to pay Oleson’s fees. And the reprimand stated Oleson violated the bar’s rule that states “It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.” The reprimand stated that Oleson’s actions necessitated “multiple hearings and an unnecessary waste of judicial resources.”
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