Sorci v. Iowa Dist. Court for Polk County

Citation671 N.W.2d 482
Decision Date13 November 2003
Docket NumberNo. 03-0936.,03-0936.
PartiesMichael SORCI and the Youth Law Center, Plaintiffs, v. The IOWA DISTRICT COURT FOR POLK COUNTY, Iowa, Defendant.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Iowa

Lee H. Gaudineer of Gaudineer, Comito & George, L.L.P., Des Moines, for plaintiffs.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, and Cristen C. Odell, Assistant Attorney General, for defendant.

STREIT, Justice.

The Youth Law Center, a non-profit organization which provides legal representation to children, challenges three administrative orders of the Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial District. The administrative orders removed Youth Law Center (YLC) lawyers from hundreds of cases, on account of an alleged conflict of interest on the part of its (now former) executive director, Martha Johnson. We affirm the district court's removal of the YLC from cases in which Johnson had substantial responsibility as an assistant county attorney. Because the YLC should be permitted to rebut the presumption its lawyers still possess confidential information now that Johnson has left the YLC, however, we reverse, in part, and remand for further proceedings.

I. Facts and Procedural Background1

From 1999 to 2002, Martha Johnson worked as an assistant county attorney for Polk County, Iowa. Johnson worked in the juvenile division of the office. From July 2001 to August 2002, she was an intake attorney.

Approximately 1100 Child In Need of Assistance (CINA) petitions were initiated while Johnson was intake attorney. Johnson filed and signed CINA petitions after receiving a request for intervention from the Department of Human Services (DHS). DHS would contact the county attorney's office and forward the pertinent information to one of two non-lawyer intake specialists. The intake specialists would prepare each CINA petition by filling in blanks in a standard form using information DHS provided. Johnson reviewed the petition. If she found it acceptable, Johnson signed and filed it in the district court.

Johnson considered DHS her client. Johnson actively worked with DHS case workers, medical personnel, and other professionals to determine when CINA petitions ought to be filed. In addition to signing and filing CINA petitions, in some cases Johnson would prepare and file applications for the temporary removal of children from their homes. On occasion, Johnson also represented the State at removal hearings. Johnson was the contact person for DHS in the county attorney's office whenever it needed a court order.

In late 2002, Johnson resigned from the Polk County Attorney's Office, and became the executive director of the YLC. The YLC is a non-profit organization which provides legal representation to children and is under contract to the State Public Defender's Office. The YLC has an executive director and five staff attorneys. The Polk County Juvenile Court regularly appoints YLC attorneys to serve as guardians ad litem for children.

When apprised of Johnson's move, District Associate Judge William Price advised Johnson to obtain a formal opinion from the ethics committee of the bar association concerning any potential conflicts of interest in her new position as YLC director. Neither Johnson nor the YLC sought such an opinion. Johnson did, however, receive a letter from the Administrator of the Polk County Department of Human Services for the Des Moines Service Area, in which the Administrator "waive[d] any conflict or appearance of a conflict that may arise from Ms. Johnson's change in employment."

Upon her hire, the YLC did not erect a so-called Chinese Wall, a screening device for lawyers who may have conflicts of interest. See Doe v. Perry Cmty. Sch. Dist., 650 N.W.2d 594, 601 (Iowa 2002)

(approving use of Chinese Walls to overcome imputed disqualification in certain circumstances). As executive director of the YLC, Johnson had access to the organization's case files, although she stated she did not touch them unless she was filing papers. Johnson admitted the YLC "operates on a pretty open basis" and she had, from time to time, heard other lawyers talking about cases in which she had been involved while working in the county attorney's office. Johnson participated in some of these conversations. On at least one occasion a subordinate attempted to consult Johnson about a case in which Johnson had prior involvement as assistant county attorney. Johnson told the subordinate to "handle [it] on her own."

The issue of Johnson's potential conflict of interest rapidly created a predicament for the Polk County Juvenile Court. On May 5, 2003, Judge Robert Blink disqualified, on the motion of the child's mother, a YLC attorney from a contested termination case in which Johnson had actively participated as assistant county attorney. Judge Blink ruled Johnson's conflict imputed to the YLC attorney and disqualified the YLC, finding Johnson's prior involvement on the case had been "substantial and significant."

The next day, Johnson sent a letter to the Polk County juvenile judges and to the Chief Judge of the Fifth Judicial District, Arthur Gamble. Johnson informed the judges she had advised YLC attorneys to "raise the issue of conflict of interest at every hearing they attend." Johnson told the judges she would prepare a waiver for YLC attorneys to present to the other parties and the court. Johnson asked the judges if the standard for disqualification was indeed "substantial and significant" as Judge Blink had ruled, and invited "any opinion or direction" the judges might wish to share with her. Johnson also offered to urge the YLC Board of Directors to seek a formal ethics opinion, if the judges so desired.

The next week, Johnson sent another letter to the judges. She gave the judges a description of her duties in the county attorney's office, a list of cases in which she had substantial and significant participation, and the DHS waiver. Johnson also offered to prepare a list of YLC cases, categorized by dates, which could be screened for substantial and significant involvement.

On May 19, 2003, Judge William Price held an evidentiary hearing in a contested permanency case to determine whether another YLC lawyer, Michael Sorci, had a conflict of interest. Both parents had moved to disqualify Sorci for a conflict of interest. On May 28, Judge Price disqualified Sorci because of Johnson's prior involvement in the case.

In the case before him, Judge Price found Johnson had, among other activities, reviewed, signed, and filed the CINA petition; completed, executed, and swore to the application for order of temporary removal; prepared orders for temporary removal and a removal hearing; appeared on behalf of the State at the removal hearing; and represented the State at the pre-trial conference. On occasion, DHS may have told Johnson the identity of the child abuse reporter in a juvenile case — confidential information which may not be disclosed to other parties. Finding Johnson's involvement was significant and substantial as assistant county attorney, Judge Price disqualified Sorci. He also noted "the appearance of impropriety is real and in this matter extensive."

On May 22, 2003, Chief Judge Arthur Gamble met with Johnson and two other YLC representatives, including attorney Victoria Herring, president of the YLC. There is no record of the meeting, but less than a week later Herring faxed a letter to Judge Gamble which set forth YLC's position on the conflict of interest and proposed solutions to what was, by then, a growing problem in the district court. Herring's letter, among other things, urged the court to consider the conflict issue on a case-by-case basis. The YLC agreed not to contest conflicts in 221 cases where Johnson was alleged to have had substantial responsibility as assistant county attorney; Herring urged the court, however, to implement "a procedure for orderly determination" in "275 or so cases" in which "the substantial responsibility criterion is not clear or contested."

On May 28, Chief Judge Gamble issued administrative order 2003-14. In his order, Chief Judge Gamble noted the YLC. conflict-of-interest issue "is arising daily before the Court"; the "situation seriously interferes with the orderly administration of the juvenile court ... due to continuances caused by uncertainty and litigation concerning the disqualification and substitution of counsel for the children ..."; and it "compromises the Court's ability to comply with state and federal guidelines...." Although Chief Judge Gamble recognized "[i]n less obvious circumstances, case-by-case adjudication of potential conflicts is appropriate," he rejected such a method in the present situation because it is "unnecessary litigation and is detrimental to the administration of justice."

Chief Judge Gamble, citing in part DR 9-101(B) of the Iowa Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers,

disqualified and removed [the YLC] from the representation of children in any pending case where ... Martha Johnson acted as counsel for the State of Iowa as an assistant Polk County Attorney including but not limited to all cases where Martha Johnson: (a) communicated or provided legal advice to DHS social workers, other prosecutors or agents of the State concerning the subject matter of the case; (b) authored any correspondence or reports concerning the subject matter of the case; (c) signed pleadings filed in the case on behalf of the State; or (d) appeared before the court in proceedings in the case on behalf of the State.

In these cases, the district court concluded Johnson had "personally and substantially participated in the representation of the State.... No further hearing is necessary."

In addition, Chief Judge Gamble ordered the YLC to conduct a review of

its representation of children in all other pending and future court appointments and report to the Court on an ongoing basis whether or not prior activities by Martha Johnson might be or become involved in the case.
...

To continue reading

Request your trial
30 cases
  • Crowell v. State Pub. Defender, 12–2226.
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • February 12, 2014
    ...790, 794 (Iowa 2004). Our power to review lower court actions by issuing writs of certiorari is discretionary. Sorci v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 671 N.W.2d 482, 490 (Iowa 2003). Once this court exercises its discretionary power to grant certiorari, we engage in review of the action of the inferior t......
  • Crowell v. State Pub. Defender
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • January 24, 2014
    ...N.W.2d 790, 794 (Iowa 2004). Our power to review lower court actionsby issuing writs of certiorari is discretionary. Sorci v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 671 N.W.2d 482, 490 (Iowa 2003). Once this court exercises its discretionary power to grant certiorari, we engage in review of the action of the infe......
  • Cooksey v. Cargill Meat Solutions Corp.
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • May 17, 2013
    ...that “where a question is obvious and ruled upon by the district court, the issue is adequately preserved”); cf. Sorci v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 671 N.W.2d 482, 489–91 (Iowa 2003) (holding error not preserved on issues not presented to the district court). Similarly, in State v. Chrisman, 514 N.W.......
  • State v. Allen
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • January 7, 2005
    ...and (3) the government interest in the regulation, including the burdens imposed by additional procedures[.] Sorci v. Iowa Dist. Ct., 671 N.W.2d 482, 491 (Iowa 2003) (citations omitted). Balancing these factors, we conclude that any marginal gain in reliability is outweighed by the costs of......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT