May a former prosecutor defend a DWI client who was a witness in an unrelated pending prosecution?

Plain-English summary

The lawyer formerly worked as a county prosecutor. A person who had been a witness in an assault case handled by the prosecutor's office sought the lawyer's representation on a DWI charge. The assault case remained pending, but the lawyer said the witness had given no special information and their previous contact was unrelated to the DWI matter.

On that information, the answer says the lawyer did not have a conflict of interest that prohibited the DWI representation. The published answer does not cite a specific rule or address other facts.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998, before Missouri's 2007 revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context and verify current rules before relying on it.

Common questions

Q: Did the pending assault prosecution itself prohibit the DWI representation?

A: The opinion says no conflict prohibited representation on the facts given, including that the earlier contact was unrelated to the DWI case.

Q: Did the witness give the former prosecutor special information?

A: The question states that the witness gave the lawyer no special information.

Background and rules framework

The opinion addresses a former county prosecutor's possible conflict when a witness from a pending assault prosecution seeks representation in a separate DWI matter. The published question and answer do not name a particular conflict rule.

Citations and references

The published opinion cites no specific rule, statute, case, or other opinion.

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 990054: Former Prosecutor and Probation Defense
• Missouri Informal Op. 20000168: Former Defender Prosecuting a Client

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/980044/
• Rule revision reference: Missouri Informal Opinion 20030007

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

QUESTION: Attorney is a former county prosecutor now in private practice. Attorney has been approached by X seeking representation on a DWI charge. Attorney knows X because X was a witness in an assault case that the prosecutor´s office handled while Attorney worked at the prosecutor´s office. The assault case is still pending. X gave Attorney no special information, and previous contact with X was unrelated to the present charge. Does Attorney have a conflict?
ANSWER: Based on the information Attorney has provided, Attorney does not have a conflict of interest which prohibits Attorney from representing the individual in the DWI case.