INDReporter

DA Phil Haney appearing before disciplinary board

by Heather Miller

Sixteenth Judicial District Attorney Phil Haney, the first sitting district attorney to ever face charges of ethical misconduct by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, will appear before the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board Thursday to defend himself against allegations that he violated conflict of interest codes related to a civil case he represented through his private practice in 2007. Phil Haney, the 12-year district attorney for Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes, will testify on his own behalf again Thursday when he appears before the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board in New Orleans to address allegations that he may have violated ethical codes when he took on a 2007 civil case through his private practice.

According to The Teche News' website, the 16th Judicial District attorney, who testified in February at the Lafayette Parish Courthouse for a Disciplinary Board committee hearing that later found no direct violations of attorney rules of conduct, is now facing the full disciplinary board for an official ruling that could take up to 30 days.

As IND Monthly reported in February: Haney's ethical charges stem from a complaint filed by former state Sen. Troy Hebert, Haney's longtime public rival who now heads the state Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Haney was retained in a civil case by Stephanie Provost, who was injured in a boating accident in which her boyfriend was the owner and driver of the boat. According to Haney, he was unaware when he took the case that her boyfriend was issued two citations by the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in relation to the boating accident. Haney maintains that when his office learned of the criminal charges against Provost's boyfriend, he immediately recused his office from handling the criminal case against her boyfriend and forwarded the case to the state Attorney General's Office.

His contingency fee for representing Provost was $20,000.

Of the six cases on Thursday's disciplinary board docket, Haney's is the only one without a recommended sanction or suspension by the hearing committee, The Teche News reports. But if the full Disciplinary Board goes against the committee's recommendations, the district attorney could face probation, suspension or even permanent disbarment from practicing law in Louisiana.

If either party in Haney's ethics case decides to appeal the Disciplinary Board's final ruling, the Louisiana Supreme Court is charged with hearing the appeal.

Read the full story from The Teche News here.

Read more coverage from IND Monthly here.