James R. Axt Chariton License Suspended for two years Supreme Court Decision Nov. 24, 2010 The Supreme Court suspended James Axt’s license to practice law for violating Iowa Rule of Professional Conduct 32:8.4 relating to multiple criminal convictions. Axt graduated from law school in 1978. After completing a master‘s degree in public administration in 1979, he entered into private practice and served as a part-time magistrate. He worked as an attorney for the Iowa Commissioner of Labor for two years starting in 1984. Axt was subsequently employed for one year as the regional counsel for a farm credit association and for 13 years as an administrative law judge. He resumed his private practice in Chariton from 2000 to 2003. The Court noted that alcohol and depression have been chronic problems for Axt, and played roles in previous disciplinary actions against Axt for domestic abuse assault, resisting arrest while intoxicated, intemperate outburst, use of profanity, operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, assault on a police officer, and interference with official acts. Continuing problems with alcohol abuse resulted in the first temporary disability-related suspension of his law license in 2003 and treatment for alcohol abuse and depression. Axt temporarily maintained sobriety after treatment, and his law license was reinstated in February 2006. The period of sobriety came to an end when Axt and his domestic partner engaged in a drinking binge lasting two weeks in November 2008. Axt physically abused and injured his partner during that binge, and subsequently pled guilty to domestic abuse assault with intent to inflict serious injury and received a suspended
prison sentence in January 2009. This criminal conviction led to another temporary suspension of Axt’s law license. A no-contact order barring Axt’s contact with his victim for five years was made part of the criminal sentence. When he violated the no-contact order in August 2009 by phoning the victim repeatedly from jail, Axt was charged and convicted of yet another crime. Axt has been living in a halfway house since the spring of 2009, and is actively engaged in treatment for his mental health and alcohol issues. The Court noted that Axt’s recovery is far from complete, however, evidenced by his hospitalization for a Tylenol overdose in February 2010. The Supreme Court found Axt’s second conviction for domestic abuse and his repeated violations of a court order banning contact with the victim clearly demonstrated his disrespect for the law and contempt for the authority of the court, and reflected adversely on his fitness to practice law. In determining the appropriate sanction the Court noted several mitigating factors, including rehabilitative efforts to control his addiction to alcohol, his full cooperation with the Board in the current and previous disciplinary matters, and that no client was hurt as a result of his conduct. The Court suspended Axt’s license to practice law for a minimum of two years.
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Iowa Lawyer April 2011
Rolland Eugene Knopf Newton, Iowa License suspended for three months Supreme Court Decision Feb. 4, 2011 In 2004, the Iowa Department of Revenue began investigating Rolland Knopf for his failure to file state income tax returns for 1993 to 2002 and 2004. In 2008, the State charged Knopf with four
counts of fraudulent practice in the second degree for failing to file his tax returns. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent practice in the second degree for failing to file his 2001 and 2002 state tax returns. The district court placed him on supervised probation for five years. In 2009, the Disciplinary Board filed a complaint against Knopf alleging that he had failed to file state income tax returns for 1993 to 2002 and 2004, and that he filed his 2003 return late without paying the taxes due. The complaint also noted that he pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulent practice for failing to file his 2001 and 2002 state tax returns. Knopf appealed his convictions for fraudulent practice but his appeal was dismissed for want of prosecution so the Board added a charge that his failure to cure the default also violated the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct. The Court determined that Knopf violated several Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct, including failure to file and pay state income taxes; engaging in illegal conduct involving moral turpitude; engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation; engaging in any other conduct that adversely reflects on the fitness to practice law; and engaging in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. The Court suspended Knopf’s license for three months. In its decision, the Court considered Knopf’s personal illnesses and also required that prior to being reinstated, Knopf would need to provide an evaluation by a licensed healthcare professional verifying his fitness to practice law.
Bruce G. Thomas Sioux City License Suspended for 60 days Supreme Court Order Feb. 18, 2011 The Supreme Court suspended Bruce Thomas’s license to practice law for violating the code of professional responsibility relating to neglect, which was compounded by failure to communicate with his clients about a missed court deadline and subsequent dismissal of a case. Thomas graduated from law school in 1976. He worked for a period as an assistant Woodbury County Attorney, but spent the bulk of his career as a general practitioner in the Sioux City area. Thomas’s disciplinary action centers on his conduct in representing a husband and wife in a personal injury claim arising from an automobile accident in December 2005. Thomas met with his clients about their claim in March 2006 and timely filed a petition in district court in December