Disciplinary Case Summaries

• Publication year: 2022
• Pages: 72

Disciplinary Case Summaries No. Vol. 51, No. 6 [Page 72] Colorado Lawyer June, 2022

FROM THE COURTS OFFICE OF THE PRESIDING DISCIPLINARY JUDGE

No. 21PDI088. People v. Fredenburg.

4/15/2022. Stipulation to Discipline.

The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties' stipulation to discipline and suspended Joseph Lester Fredenburg (attorney registration number 55463) for six months. The suspension was effective April 15, 2022.

On November 17, 2021, Fredenburg pleaded guilty to assault in the second degree—strangulation, a class 4 felony, pursuant to a deferred judgment and sentence. He also pleaded guilty to harassment as an act of domestic violence, a class 3 misdemeanor. The pleas were based on the report of a man who told law enforcement that he believed he saw Fredenburg choking Fredenburg's then-girlfriend. When the man intervened and pulled Fredenburg from the woman, Fredenburg pushed him against a wall. Fredenburg then wrapped his hands around the man's neck for five seconds, strangling the man, who stated, "If I don't get help, I'm going to pass out." The man said that he could feel Fredenburg's thumbs press into his esophagus.

Through this conduct, Fredenburg violated Colo. RPC 8.4(b) (it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects).

No. 21PDI065. People v. Marshall IV. 4/4/2022. Stipulation to Discipline.

The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the...