This blog was launched in October, 2019, during Trump I, and soon thereafter I wrote an entry called, “This Blog Isn’t About Politics, and Other Lies We Tell.” I started blogging, intending to focus on disciplinary decisions, new rules, bar opinions, and so forth, with a healthy dose of snark. (To be fair, in October 2019 I also needed to get the buy-in of my employer, and they didn’t want this blog to be about politics either.)

Then-current events would force the issue, however, between Rudy Giuliani, The Kraken, and attempts to push back on all of it.  So, it’s not surprising that with the return of Trump (Trump II: Electric Boogaloo?) comes the return of the “it’s not political, but” posts. I suspect this will be a regular feature.

Anyhow, I’ve got a few of these entries in the hopper. I’m starting with this one because it’s easy and obvious and I am so very very tired.

Edward Martin, interim US Attorney for the District of Columbia, was present outside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, and later defended three people charged with crimes related to the insurrection. The case against one of his clients, Joseph Padilla,  was still ongoing when Trump took office and pardoned nearly everyone involved in the riots.

Martin, in his government role, filed a motion on January 21 to dismiss the case against Padilla—who was still his client, at least on paper/pixels in the court file. He did not move to withdraw until this week.  

So…we have, at the very least, if Padilla was a current client, a concurrent conflict of interest under Rule 1.7(a) (as lawyers can’t represent a client on both sides of a case, and this sort of conflict can’t be waived). If Padilla truly was a former client, we have a likely breach of a duty to a former client under Rule 1.9 (a lawyer can’t jump sides without informed consent); and, in either case, we seem to have a special conflict of interest under Rule 1.11(d) (a government lawyer can’t participate in a matter in which the lawyer was substantially involved in prior nongovernment practice, absent informed consent, which, again, we probably don’t have).

This is an issue spotter that EPR professors probably will not be using, because it is just too easy.

The 65 Project has filed an ethics complaint, in Missouri, where Martin is barred.