Louisiana Attorney Discipline Board recommends Metairie lawyer one year deferred probation for criminal charges

On Wednesday, August 24, 2022, the Office of the Disciplinary Counsel filed a Recommendation to the Louisiana Supreme Court recommending that “Respondent, Danminh Quy, be suspended for one year, and that the suspension be deferred in its entirety”, and that “Respondent be placed on probation for a period to coincide with his two-year monitoring agreement with JLAP” relating to his arrest on September 16, 2018, for driving while intoxicated, failure to obey traffic signal/red light; and resisting an officer.

The case, titled In the Matter of DanMinh Quy Mui, is being heard by the Louisiana Attorney Discipline Board. Case #20-DB-001.

The ODC alleges that Respondent violated Rule 8.4(b) and 8.1(c) of the  Rules of Professional Conduct, which state:

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;

An applicant for admission to the bar, or a lawyer in connection with a bar admission application or in connection with a disciplinary matter, shall not . . . fail to cooperate with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel in its investigation of any matter before it except for an openly expressed claim of a constitutional privilege.

According to the filing:

The formal charges were filed on January 2, 2020. By letters dated January 3 and March5, 2020, the formal charges were mailed via certified mail to Respondent’s primary and secondary registration addresses. Respondent failed to file an answer to the charges. Accordingly, on August 17, 2020, ODC filed a motion to deem the factual allegations admitted pursuant to Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 11(E)(3).4By order signed September 14, 2020, the factual allegations contained in the formal charges were deemed admitted. On April 30, 2021, ODC filed its submission on sanction.

On June 3, 2021, Hearing Committee No. 49⁵ (“the Committee”) issued its report, recommending that Respondent be suspended from the practice of law for a year and a day. Respondent filed an objection to the Committee’s report on June 21, 2021, maintaining that he has taken, and is in the process of taking, additional steps to mitigate the effects of his prior arrest for DWI, including contacting the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (“JLAP”) and scheduling an evaluation with an approved psychologist.

The filing continues:

Oral argument before Panel “C” of the Disciplinary Board was held on August 26, 2021. Respondent informed the Panel that he participated in a JLAP substance use disorder evaluation on July 6, 2021, and he was scheduled to participate in a JLAP intensive inpatient evaluation on October 4-5, 2021. Respondent requested that the Panel leave the record open to receive the July 6, 2021, and October 4-5, 2021 evaluations. ODC had no objection to Respondent’s request.

On December 9, 2021, Deputy Disciplinary Counsel Robert S. Kennedy, on behalf of ODC, filed a letter addressed to the Board, requesting that Respondent’s JLAP evaluation be filed into the record. The JLAP evaluation, which consisted of two documents, was filed into the record with Mr. Kennedy’s letter on December 9, 2021. On December 27, 2021, ODC filed its Memorandum in Support of Sanction. On January 5, 2022, Mr. Kennedy filed a letter with the Board indicating that ODC had been provided with a copy of JLAP’s two-year diagnostic monitoring agreement executed by Respondent on January 4, 2022.

The Committee finds that Respondent violated the following Rules of Professional Conduct: 8.1(c), and 8.4(b). The evidence reflects Respondent violated [R]ule 8.4(b) when he engaged in criminal conduct by driving while intoxicated. The respondent violated Rule 8. l(c) (failure to cooperate with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel) when he failed to follow through on ODC’s request to undergo an evaluation by a Lawyers Assistance Program (“LAP”)-approved evaluator.

In its Conclusion, the Board adopts the Committee’s findings of fact, as updated. 

The Board’s Recommendation, read in part:

The Board recommends that Respondent, DanMinh Quy, be suspended for one year and that the suspension be deferred in its entirety. Further, the Board recommends that Respondent be placed on probation for a period to coincide with the terms of his two-year monitoring agreement with JLAP. . . Finally, the Board recommends that Respondent be assessed with the costs and expenses of the proceeding pursuant to Rule XIX, Section I 0.1.

According to Avvo,  Mui practices in Metairie, Louisiana. She is licensed in Louisiana.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.