Michigan Lawyer Faces Disbarment Over Alleged Misconduct
Less than eight months after losing a race to become Michigan’s top lawyer, Republican Matt DePerno is facing a complaint that accuses him of professional misconduct and potential discipline that could include disbarment. The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission concluded that DePerno made false statements and engaged in “conduct that is contrary to justice, ethics, honesty or good morals.” The filing with the attorney discipline board focused on three counts of alleged misconduct by DePerno, resulting from years of litigation in which he represented former state Rep. Todd Courser, a Republican from Lapeer County.
DePerno has been at the center of the push to advance false and unproven claims of fraud in Michigan’s 2020 presidential election, which Republican Donald Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump previously endorsed DePerno for attorney general, a race Democrat Dana Nessel won by 9 percentage points. Then, the former president endorsed him in January for Michigan Republican Party chair, a contest Kristina Karamo won.
In two past cases, one in federal court and one in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, Courser and DePerno unsuccessfully sued The Detroit News after the paper in 2015 uncovered Courser’s extramarital affair with a fellow lawmaker, then-Rep. Cindy Gamrat, and his scheme to conceal it. In October 2019, Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Timothy Connors dismissed the case against The News “with prejudice” and ordered DePerno and Courser to pay the newspaper $79,701 as a sanction.
The Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission said in its new complaint against DePerno that he had made “false allegations” in court filings and had “failed to identify or provide any evidence” when he once claimed Connors and Leonard Niehoff, a lawyer who represented The News, had a “personal relationship.” DePerno made arguments that “were speculative, devoid of legal merit and were intended to disparage and harass Judge Connors and attorney Niehoff,” the complaint said.
The commission’s formal complaint goes to the Michigan Attorney Discipline Board, which has the power to decide whether misconduct complaints have been proven and, if so, what discipline to impose, according to the State Bar of Michigan. The board appointed a hearing panel consisting of three volunteer attorneys to decide the complaint. The hearing panel can impose discipline ranging from a reprimand to suspension of a law license to disbarment.
Last year, DePerno acknowledged he was the target of multiple Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission investigations. One of the probes involved his handling of litigation over the 2020 election in northern Michigan’s Antrim County. DePerno is also involved in an ongoing investigation into an alleged conspiracy to improperly obtain election equipment in Michigan. Nessel’s office formally sought the appointment of a special prosecutor on Aug. 5 to consider an array of potential criminal charges against nine individuals, including DePerno. The probe by the special prosecutor, Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson, is ongoing. DePerno has denied doing anything illegal.
Original Story at www.detroitnews.com – 2023-06-16 17:25:07
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