Attorney Free on Bail Disbarred

The further you read, the worse it gets:

A Dallas attorney who spent two nights in the Hood County Jail last week after a judge found her in contempt of court had been disbarred a week earlier, according to the State Bar of Texas.

Catherine Shelton, 56, was ordered by a Dallas judge to surrender her law license March 18, according to a news release from the bar.

She was found to have violated rules of conduct based on a client's complaint in June 2003. Her disciplinary history also figured in the disbarment, according to the news release. Shelton was suspended in 1980, 1983, 1999 and 2003.

She had failed to appear for trial to defend a client, Roy Lee Alex, who was charged with "habitual driving while intoxicated." He was convicted and sentenced to 85 years, but the judge ordered a new trial for lack of adequate representation.

The judge then set a contempt hearing for Ms. Shelton. When she appeared 10 minutes late for that hearing, the judge jailed her and set bail at $50,000.

Just to top things off, Ms. Shelton's husband, Clinton Dale Shelton, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for killing the husband of one of Ms. Shelton's former business partners.

Details here from Star-Telegram.com.