State Justices Reverse Attorney Suspension
The trial judge was wrong to sanction Hartford attorney Joseph Elder because of a six-year statute of limitations for most attorney discipline cases, the high court ruled.
May 08, 2017 at 04:44 PM
6 minute read
By a 6-0 vote the Connecticut Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that an attorney could be suspended despite the six-year limitation period.
In its ruling, which will be officially released May 2, the high court ruled Hartford Superior Court Judge Antonio C. Robaina erred when suspending Hartford attorney Joseph Elder for one year, effective Sept. 1, 2015. Robaina, who agreed with the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel that Elder engaged in professional misconduct in 2004 for allegedly impersonating fellow Hartford attorney Wesley Spears, denied Elder's motion to dismiss the action based on the six-year limitation rule. The suspension was handed down 11 years after Spears filed a complaint against Elder.
Robaina maintained the limitation period was “discretionary” but the high court disagreed.
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