Former Bear Lake County prosecutor's law license revoked - Idaho State Journal
Former Bear Lake County Prosecuting Attorney Joseph R. Hayes has had his license to practice law in the state revoked after he violated three of the Idaho State Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct between 2019 and 2021, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled in an order filed Monday.
To avoid disciplinary proceedings with the Idaho State Bar, Hayes, also a former Montpelier attorney, resigned from the Idaho State Bar on Monday, according to a public discipline notice posted to the State Bar’s website and obtained by the Idaho State Journal on Wednesday.
“By the terms of the Idaho Supreme Court’s Order, Mr. Hayes’ name was stricken from the records of the Idaho Supreme Court and his right to practice law before the courts in the State of Idaho was terminated on April 4, 2022,” the notice says.
The disciplinary notice from the Idaho State Bar states Hayes committed conduct that was prejudicial to the administration of justice, served clients in which there was a clear conflict of interest and engaged in sexual relations with a client.
Additionally, the Idaho Office of the Attorney General confirmed to the Journal in a Wednesday email there is an active and ongoing investigation into the sexual conduct allegations against Hayes and whether or not the conduct arose to a criminal level.
The most recent incident involving Hayes' conduct as Bear Lake County's prosecutor occurred in 2021 and involved a woman who contacted him in March of that year regarding allegations that her then-husband had committed domestic violence against her. In July 2021, Hayes charged the woman’s husband with four felony counts related to domestic violence.
While prosecuting the case against the woman’s husband between August and October 2021, Hayes engaged in sexual conduct with the woman on several occasions inside of his law office and sent her sexually explicit messages, the disciplinary notice states. Hayes admitted that these actions violated the Idaho State Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct regarding conflicts of interest and was conduct that was prejudicial to the administration of justice.
In December 2020, a different woman retained Hayes for representation regarding a protection order, divorce and qualified domestic relations order. During that representation, Hayes sent the woman sexually explicit messages and engaged in sexual conduct with her on one occasion, which he admitted were violations of the conflict-of-interest rule and another that prohibits attorneys from having sexual relations with clients.
The first incident occurred in May 2019 when Hayes was representing a different woman during a divorce case. Hayes sent the woman sexually explicit messages and made inappropriate sexual comments to her. In doing so, Hayes admitted that he violated the Rules of Professional Conduct regarding conflicts of interest, the disciplinary notice states.
“The Idaho Supreme Court accepted Mr. Hayes’ resignation in lieu of disciplinary proceedings,” the disciplinary notice states. “By the terms of the Order, Mr. Hayes may not make an application for admission to the Idaho State Bar sooner than five years from the date of his resignation. If he does make such an application for admission, he will be required to comply with all the bar admission requirements in Section II of the Idaho Bar Commission Rules and shall have the burden of overcoming the rebuttable presumption of the 'unfitness to practice law.'"
Idaho State Bar Counsel Brad Andrews told the Journal during a Wednesday phone interview the Idaho Bar filed its stipulation for Hayes to resign his law license with the Idaho Supreme Court on Feb. 28. The Idaho State Bar's board of commissioners approved the filing of the stipulation on Jan. 13 following an investigation that was launched late last year, Andrews said.
If Hayes opts to reapply for admission to the Idaho State Bar again in at least five years, he will first have to submit an application and then undergo a process in which a Bar committee evaluates Hayes’ character and fitness to practice law again in the state, Andrews said. Hayes must also take and pass the Idaho Bar examination.
“The burden is on the applicant to show by a preponderance of evidence that they have overcome the rebuttable presumption of the unfitness to practice law,” Andrews said. “In essence, the character and fitness committee start with an assumption that a person is unfit to practice law, unless the applicant can prove to the committee, the Bar’s board of commissioners, and, ultimately, the Idaho Supreme Court that they are fit to practice law in the state.”
Hayes, who became Bear Lake's County prosecutor in January 2021, resigned from that position in a letter dated Jan. 6. He said in the letter that he had been honored to have been elected and was privileged to serve with other dedicated public officials, according to a Jan. 11 article published in the the Montpelier News-Examiner. Hayes also closed his private law office in Montpelier in early 2022, leaving the state for a period of time in pursuit of alternate employment, The News-Examiner said.
Hayes' January resignation ended a period of several months during which he was unavailable to act as prosecutor, The News-Examiner said. Attorney Adam McKenzie of Franklin County was appointed as Bear Lake County's chief deputy prosecuting attorney shortly after Hayes resigned and has since operated as the interim prosecuting attorney in Bear Lake County.
Bear Lake County Commissioner Rex Payne told the Journal during a Wednesday phone interview the county is in the process of soliciting interest from individuals to fill the prosecuting attorney position for a limited time period to prove the person is qualified for the job.
The Journal reached out to Hayes for comment for this article but has not yet received a response.
source: https://www.idahostatejournal.com/news/local/former-bear-lake-county-prosecutors-law-license-revoked/article_49c1ea78-a0fa-5cc7-918c-af2b85ca4315.html
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