A central Iowa lawyer who lied to police and was criminally convicted of destructive prosecution of a client’s father is dealing with a opportunity six-thirty day period suspension of his regulation license.
Previous April, the Iowa Supreme Court’s Legal professional Disciplinary Board filed a criticism versus Andrew Aeilts, an attorney from Pella, alleging three counts of expert misconduct.
Especially, the board claimed Aeilts fully commited a criminal act that reflected adversely on his honesty and health as a law firm engaged in carry out involving dishonesty or fraud and engaged in carry out that was prejudicial to the administration of justice.
Aeilts, who has practiced law in Iowa due to the fact 2015, obtained a contact from a client’s father on Aug. 21, 2018, at his Pella regulation workplace. For the duration of that call, the man informed Aeilts, “I will file a grievance about you,” referring to an ethics grievance that would go just before the board for disciplinary action.
Later on that same working day, Aeilts reported to Pella law enforcement that the man had threatened to physically assault him, and he questioned that harassment prices be filed and a no-make contact with buy issued.
Aeilts told the law enforcement he was not frightened to testify and that the male who threatened him experienced a prison heritage.
Immediately after using the report from Aeilts, a Pella law enforcement officer initiated an investigation in which he contacted the client’s father and requested the gentleman whether he had threatened Aeilts. The guy denied carrying out so and delivered the officer with a 4-moment recording of the whole cell phone contact, indicating the gentleman never made any threats that he was likely to bodily damage Aeilts.
A couple of weeks afterwards, on Sept. 16, 2018, about 4 a.m., Aeilts was arrested and charged with initially-offense drunken driving. Police data show Aeilts experienced pushed his auto off the roadway and by way of a corn discipline, producing hurt to both equally the discipline and the car or truck. He then drove the vehicle an further six miles, with a destroyed windshield, in advance of currently being stopped by legislation enforcement. His blood-liquor degree was measured at .122, very well more than the legal limit of .08.
Prior to staying booked into the Marion County Jail, Aeilts sent Assistant Marion County Lawyer Mathias Robinson two textual content messages. The very first mentioned, “Need support.” The second mentioned, “911.” During the scheduling approach, Aeilts reported to a police lieutenant, “This all has been uncomfortable enough. If you just want to fall it, it will never ever take place all over again. I guarantee it. How about that?”
Later on in the day, Robinson responded to Aeilts’ texts by inquiring, “What’s up?” Aeilts texted back again, “Made a slip-up that’ll be coming throughout your desk. Hopeful we can work a little something out,” and then included, “And hopeful we can do so swiftly and quietly if achievable.”
On Oct. 1, 2018, the Pella Law enforcement Division criminally charged Aeilts with destructive prosecution and submitting a bogus report of an indictable offense.
Aeilts later pleaded responsible to the charge of operating even though intoxicated and was granted a deferred judgment and placed on probation for a person 12 months. He entered an Alford plea of guilty to the cost of malicious prosecution, and at his sentencing in February 2020, he instructed the court docket, “At the time of the points providing rise to this situation, I was not a criminal protection attorney. I experienced managed probably two or 3 OWIs. I had under no circumstances handled just about anything else. I was not a criminal protection lawyer. I did not know the factors of harassment. I experienced hardly ever managed a harassment charge. I had in no way dealt with so much as a uncomplicated assault.”
The judge in the circumstance fined Aeilts $315 and sentenced him to a few times in jail on the malicious prosecution cost. The charge of filing a untrue report of an indictable offense was dismissed.
The Legal professional Disciplinary Board would later obtain that prior to the cell phone phone that resulted in the expenses against him, Aeilts experienced represented clients in at minimum 22 prison matters that included allegations of trespass, assault, disorderly perform, harassment, burglary, little one endangerment and drug possession.
The board concluded Aeilts’ statements to the choose at the time of his sentencing have been phony.
The board introduced the situation ahead of the Iowa Supreme Court’s Grievance Fee, which not too long ago observed that Aeilts’ bogus claims of threatened assault “created a grave danger of possible harm” to the victim and “demonstrated a disrespect for legislation enforcement.”
“Aeilts deliberately created repeated misrepresentations of material truth to the law enforcement and to the courtroom,” the commission found.
As for Aeilts’ carry out following remaining arrested for drunken driving, the commission discovered that “it is crystal clear that Aeilts despatched the textual content messages with the intent to have Robinson provide him with preferential treatment method and intervene in his pending OWI arrest,” but explained that carry out did not rise to the degree of interfering in the administration of justice.
Aeilts stipulated to the factual findings of the board, but urged the fee to consider his inexperience and lack of mentorship as mitigating components in his disciplinary situation. The commission declined to do so, stating that Aeilts’ “failures are in his ethics and honesty, with numerous misrepresentations to the court docket and to regulation enforcement around a period of time of time.”
The commission extra if the father of Aeilts’ client “had not recorded the telephone contact with Aeilts, he could have faced felony charges, incarceration, and wrongful conviction.”
The commission recommended to the Iowa Supreme Court that it suspend Aeilts’ license to exercise regulation 6 months.
The courtroom has yet to rule on the subject.
