CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Supreme Court will decide if a former state lawmaker will lose his law license for six months for representing a man who was his drug dealer.
The Court heard arguments last week in the case of Justin Marcum, the former Democratic delegate from Mingo County who practices law in Williamson.
The state Lawyer Disciplinary Board and Marcum had previously agreed to a two-year suspension that included Marcum actually losing his license for six months. A hearing panel, which held a hearing in Williamson, ruled Marcum shouldn’t lose his license for the six-month period.
The disciplinary board appealed the hearing panel’s decision to the Supreme Court.
Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel Rachael Cipoletti told the Court last week, doing away with a six-month license suspension would set a bad precedent.
“Without some level of accountability in this case by serving a period of the suspension, we are foregoing the aspect of deterrence,” Cipoletti said.
MORE Statement of charges against Marcum
The state Office of Disciplinary Counsel previously charged Marcum with several violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct dating back to complaints filed beginning in 2016. The charges were for things like conflict of interest, solicitation of clients and fees charged involving several Mingo County residents.
The charge drawing the most attention involves Marcum and a man identified as Jackie Marcum. The two are not related.
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The complaint from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel says Jackie Marcum was indicted by a Mingo County grand jury in 2018 for selling drugs and among his buyers was then Del. Justin Marcum. It says Marcum represented Jackie Marcum at his arraignment and said, “you take care of me and I’m going to take care of you.” Jackie Marcum said he knew what that meant. Jackie Marcum said he paid Marcum with oxycodone pills.
Investigators said Justin Marcum was in surveillance video receiving oxycodone from Jackie Marcum.
He eventually got a plea deal for Jackie Marcum without much, if any, input from the defendant himself.
Justin Marcum who served in the House of Delegates from 2012-2018, ultimately agreed with the complaints filed against him and the proposed sanctions. He’s stopped using drugs and has been getting help through the West Virginia Judicial and Lawyer Assistance Program, JLAP, for more than three years. Part of that program included an intensive drug treatment program that took place in Tennessee in June of 2018.
Justin Marcum was never charged with a crime.
Cipoletti told the Supreme Court last week she applauded Marcum’s “heroic efforts, getting himself into sobriety and staying in that sobriety. We laud his efforts.” But there must be some level of accountability, she said.
“It doesn’t appear to have been a long period of time of addiction but he did jeopardize a client in a criminal case,” Cipoletti said. “The amount of damage was done to the client, to the public, to the legal system, by the conduct that was in place, does require a level of suspension.”
Marcum’s attorney Lonnie Simmons told the Court the hearing panel’s decision to stay the license suspension should stand.
“The hearing panel ultimately decided what would be achieved by having him actually suspended for six months? What would that achieve? The panel decided it wouldn’t achieve anything under these facts,” Simmons said.
In his court filing Simmons wrote:
“The Hearing Panel in this case opted to send a message to Respondent and to other similarly situated lawyers that there is hope.”
Cipoletti said she’s concerned about what kind of message no suspension would send to the public about lawyers who do wrong but don’t face criminal charges.
“What are we saying to the public when we do not hold ourselves accountable as lawyers when they (the public) are not suffering the same criminal penalties?”
The Supreme Court will likely decide the case before the end of the year.