A. Melvin McDonald, lead counsel for former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, has applied to withdraw as counsel 3 weeks before the criminal contempt trial set for April 25.
Late Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Susan Bolton denied Arpaio's efforts to delay the trial due to co-counsel's son's Bar Mitzvah at the end of April. Late today, the Jones, Skelton & Hochuli's Application To Withdraw was filed, claiming that to continue to represent the former Sheriff because "the representation will result in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct or other law." The Rules of Professional Conduct refers to ethical rules that attorneys are required to follow.
It is unclear what specific type of violation could occur or what has suddenly changed in the law firm's relationship with the former Sheriff, although McDonald did state that he is "ready, willing and able to answer, in camera, any questions the court may have relative to this application." He suggests that he is available for a private hearing in the Judge's chambers during the next three days. McDonald's Application does reference "comment 3" to the ethical rule, which is reproduced at the bottom of this article.
As for the law firm's fees, Arpaio recently has been sending out regular emails soliciting funds from his massive donor base, claiming that he was falling short in his efforts to pay his attorneys. It is unlikely that that is what caused today's Application to Withdraw, however.
Arpaio is still represented by Mark Goldman and his Goldman & Zwillinger firm. In fact, the 8-person firm filed a Notice of Appearance adding its Jeff Surdakowski to the Arpaio trial team.
This is a breaking news story. The documents and more details will be posted shortly.
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Comment 3 to Ethical Rule 1.16:
[3] When a lawyer has been appointed to represent a client, withdrawal ordinarily requires approval of the appointing authority. See also Rule 6.2. Similarly, court approval or notice to the court is often required by applicable law before a lawyer withdraws from pending litigation. Difficulty may be encountered if withdrawal is based on the client's demand that the lawyer engage in unprofessional conduct. The court may request an explanation for the withdrawal, while the lawyer may be bound to keep confidential the facts that would constitute such an explanation. The lawyer's statement that professional considerations require termination of the representation ordinarily should be accepted as sufficient. Lawyers should be mindful of their obligations to both clients and the court under Rules 1.6 and 3.3.
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