On Thursday, June 20, 2024, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals disbarred former Assistant United States Attorney Joshua N. Debold from practicing law in Washington, D.C.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Joshua N. Debold”, with case number No.24-BG-0353.
The court issued a reciprocal disbarment order against Debold based on the revocation of his Virginia law license in March 2024 by the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board. Debold’s law license was revoked in Virginia due to his felony conviction for attempted assault in Arlington County Circuit Court in early 2024.
Debold was initially summarily suspended from practicing law in Virginia in February 2024 after his convictions for assault on a law enforcement officer and related charges. He was sentenced to four years in prison for those crimes.
The Virginia Disciplinary Board determined that the revocation of Debold’s law license was warranted given his felony conviction. His criminal acts brought into question his integrity and prior work administering justice as a federal prosecutor.
In May 2024, the D.C. Court of Appeals issued an interim suspension against Debold pending further proceedings to determine if reciprocal discipline would be imposed under D.C. rules. The court noted there is a presumption of identical reciprocal discipline.
Debold did not file a response to the D.C. Court’s show cause order or submit a required affidavit. Therefore, the Court disbarred Debold as reciprocal discipline, mirroring the action taken by Virginia to revoke his license there.
According to Avvo, Mr. Debold attended the University of Virginia School of Law. He acquired his law license in the District of Columbia in 2009.
The original filing of the case can be found here.
