Iowa Supreme Court Justices Skeptical of Jeff McGinness' Legal Appeal of Ethics Violation Sanctions Recommended to Court

Des Moines. The Iowa Supreme Court's justices to a man appeared to be skeptical of Jeff McGinness' legal appeal of the sanctions recommended to the Iowa Supreme Court following his ethical violations as an attorney. Greg Lederer, McGinness' attorney presented his appeal in Des Moines today (1/22/14, Thursday). McGinness himself did not appear.

Lederer said that Jeff made a decision to lie to gain a strategic advantage in litigation. He said Jeff was "over-extended" in his nonprofessional activities. He was "coaching and serving on the [Iowa City Community] school board."

"He's admitted his guilt," the attorney said.

"Wouldn't it have been better if he'd admitted guilt before he led the judge on a wild goose chase?" Justice David Wiggins asked. "You're arguing that your client is remorseful. He wasn't remorseful until he got his hand caught in the cookie jar."

Theresa Vens, the prosecuting attorney, said that McGinness didn't tell one lie. He told five lies. The first lie was to the opposing lawyer. The second lie was his cut-and-paste. His third lie was to the opposing lawyer regarding his [McGinness' falsification of documentation in the case. The fourth lie was to deny falsification of the documentation. His fifth lie was standing before the judge in the case and lying about his falsification of documentation.

McGinness also strung out the lies to the point where the judge in the case in question had to spend court resources to prove that McGinness was lying and had falsified documents.

Justice Cady asked the prosecuting attorney: "You're not asking for revocation?"

Prosecuting attorney:  "We're leaving that up to you. Six months suspension is the minimum. This is an unusual case."

The justice agreed that he hasn't ever seen a case quite like McGinness'.

"Why is six months the minimum? Help us out here," he requested.

Prosecutor: "We do have neglect cases for McGinness, e.g., Wagner, aggravated by dishonesty."

One of the Supreme Court justices: "This is a very complex lie in this case."

Another justice on the right, possibly Justice Appel, said, "Why would we want someone like this practicing law in this state?"

I asked Theresa Vens, the prosecutor, after court if the Iowa Supreme Court's decision on suspending or revoking Jeff McGinness' law license would come in June, and she said she expected a decision sooner than that, possibly in the next two months.

If you want to hear oral arguments in the case, video of the 1/22/14 a.m. hearing at the Iowa Supreme Court should be available online next week according to a knowledgeable source.