Summary
The Indiana Supreme Court approved a conditional disciplinary agreement concerning attorney Tenneil E. Selner's guilty plea to unlawfully distributing pseudoephedrine. The Court suspended Selner from practicing law for at least three years without automatic reinstatement, subject to a future reinstatement petition and specified requirements.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Respondent's unlawful distribution of pseudoephedrine constituted attorney misconduct under Indiana Professional Conduct Rule 8.4(b).
- Whether the proposed discipline of a suspension of at least three years without automatic reinstatement was appropriate.
Holdings
- Respondent violated Indiana Professional Conduct Rule 8.4(b) by committing a criminal act that adversely reflected on her honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer.
- A suspension from the practice of law for not less than three years, without automatic reinstatement, was appropriate under the circumstances.
Key quotations
“Respondent actively engaged herself in the introduction of a controlled substance into a marketplace occupied by current and future victims of a devastating addiction.” (1050)
“For Respondent’s professional misconduct, the Court suspends Respondent from the practice of law in this state for a period of not less than three years, without automatic reinstatement, effective from the date of this opinion.” (1050)
Factual background
Respondent purchased pseudoephedrine four times at different drug stores and supplied it to two other individuals, enabling them to evade statutory identification requirements. She pleaded guilty to one federal count of unlawful distribution of pseudoephedrine after two other methamphetamine-related counts were dismissed. She was sentenced to twenty-one months of imprisonment and two years of probation, and the parties stipulated that the conduct violated Indiana Professional Conduct Rule 8.4(b).
Procedural history
Respondent was indicted in federal court on three counts involving methamphetamine manufacture. She pleaded guilty to unlawful distribution of pseudoephedrine, the remaining counts were dismissed, and she received a twenty-one-month prison sentence followed by two years of probation. In this disciplinary proceeding, the Commission and Respondent submitted a stipulated conditional agreement proposing a three-year suspension without automatic reinstatement, which the Indiana Supreme Court approved.