The man who originally filed the complaint against Weirich says he is disappointed and disgusted with the punishment Weirich received from the state board overseeing lawyers.
Weirich announced yesterday she was privately reprimanded by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility for her handling of the Noura Jackson murder case.
A move that let Weirich avoid a very public misconduct hearing that was scheduled for later this week.
Bill Shelton filed the complaint. Shelton is a friend of Jackson’s.
Jackson’s 2009 conviction was overturned because of a statement Weirich made during closing arguments along with the prosecution not turning over a key witness statement until after the trial was over.
Jackson was the East Memphis teen convicted of stabbing her mother to death in 2005.
Because of what happened Weirich was facing ethics charges., something law professor Steve Mulroy says is unusual, “It’s highly unusual for a sitting district attorney to be brought up before the board of professional responsibility for anything,” said Mulroy.
The board originally suggested a public censure of Weirich; discipline Weirich didn’t want to accept.
If this week’s hearing had moved forward, a panel could have dismissed the case or publicly censured her, suspended or even disbarred her.
Essentially, both sides came to a settlement, Weirich was given lessor punishment, agreeing to a private reprimand, something Weirich said Monday she asked for from the beginning.
“It was something we asked them to do over a year ago. I’m thankful for their willingness to remain open, and I have said I’m glad to have this over,” said Weirich.
The move means Weirich officially will not have a public blemish on her law license, but, “Once you announce you received a private reprimand it becomes public,” said Mulroy.
Weirich may have avoided a very public ethics hearing, but Mulroy added in this case, the Tennessee Supreme Court has already weighed in on the matter.
“It’s not so good where we have yet another instance where we have a defendant’s rights who were violated, and a conviction had to be overturned,” said Mulroy.
The Local I-Team called the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. A spokesperson said because of a confidentiality agreement they signed with Weirich; they can’t comment on the case.
