The Utah Supreme Court has suspended former Summit County public defender Elliott Levine from practicing law for three years.
Levine was censured for arguing that one of his clients, James Holland, was more worthy of the death penalty than another of his clients, Von Lester Taylor.The high court decided Levine, with the comment, "had breached his loyalty to Holland in violation of defense counsel's duty under the Sixth Amendment."
Levine got in trouble during an appeal involving Taylor, who was convicted of capital murder in the 1990 killings of Kaye Tiede, 51, and her mother, Beth Potts, 72.
Levine argued during the appeal that he should have been allowed to put Holland on the stand during Taylor's trial to support an argument that Taylor should not be executed. He said a person such as Holland "who has committed multiple murders, had been incarcerated for nearly his whole life, comes from an abusive background, and who has little if any remorse . . . is a prime candidate for the death penalty which (Taylor) is not."
The Supreme Court subsequently disqualified Levine from serving as Holland's attorney and referred his actions to the Utah State Bar.
"The administration of justice requires that lawyers maintain an extremely high standard of professional conduct in situations involving a real or potential conflict of interest," said Stephen R. Cochell, chief disciplinary counsel for the bar. "A lawyer must, at all times, remain an effective advocate for his client and avoid taking any position that directly conflicts with his client's interests."
Levine, who worked for the county under a $14,000 per year contract, has not practiced law for two years. He currently is a securities adviser.