State Bar Wants To Take Over Cases From Modesto Attorney Accused Of Murder
MODESTO (CBS13) — A Modesto attorney and four co-defendants accused of murder appeared in court on Tuesday.
Frank Carson is accused of orchestrating a criminal conspiracy that ended in the death of 26-year-old Korey Kauffman. Investigators say the murder came after two brothers found Kauffman burglarizing Carson's Turlock property.
Kauffman's body was eventually found miles away in the Stanislaus National Forest.
Carson's wife and former California Highway Patrol officer Walter Wells are also facing conspiracy charges.
Since Carson's arrest nearly two weeks ago, one of his clients' trials has been delayed, and the state bar wants to take over his law practice.
The California State Bar says Carson has more than 71 clients with cases pending. It's seeking a court order to take over those cases, get into Carson's law office, and access his files.
The only courtroom Carson can enter is for his own criminal hearings. Deputies arrested Carson, a prominent criminal defense attorney, on murder and conspiracy charges, leaving his several dozen clients in legal limbo.
The state bar filed to take jurisdiction over his cases last week. It seeks to "enter Frank C. Carson's office … and enter Carson's residents to retrieve client files." It's asking to also examine those records and make electronic copies of all data belonging to the law practice.
In addition, the state bar asks the court to freeze Carson's financial accounts for the law practice and notify his clients that they need to choose a new attorney.
Carson is fighting the bar's requested takeover and has assigned two Modesto defense attorneys to reach out to his clients.
Several Modesto defense attorneys speaking on background say a new attorney can't access a client's files without the client's permission.
As far as cases he's tried, Carson has lost a few cases, but local defense attorneys say those convicted clients would have to show inadequate counsel or that Carson was preoccupied with the investigation prior to his arrest to win an appeal for a new trial.