Lawyers, Deputy Clerk Plead Guilty In DWI Ticket Tampering

Four Johnston County attorneys and a former court clerk pleaded guilty Monday morning for their roles in a ticket-fixing scheme.

According to the State Bureau of Investigation, the attorneys used dismissal forms signed by former Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Jaeger after she left the District Attorney's Office in September 2007.

Of all the attorneys, Chadwick Lee and Jonathan Lee Hatch faced the most charges. They each pleaded guilty to 10 counts of felony obstruction of justice, 10 counts of altering an official case record, and one count of conspiracy to commit felony obstruction of justice.

A special agent with the SBI said Monday that they both had close relationships with Jaeger and asked her to sign dismissal forms before she left office.

They could both spend up to four and a half to five years in prison.

Lee has to reimburse clients for $29,000 and pay a $10,000 fine.

Hatch has to reimburse his clients for $14,000 and pay a fine of $10,000.

Two other local attorneys were involved in the scheme, according to the SBI.

Van Sauls pleaded guilty to four counts of misdemeanor obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to a 90 day suspended sentence and three years of probation. He has to reimburse clients for about $2,350 and pay a fine of $2,500.

Jack McLamb also pleaded guilty to three counts of misdemeanor obstruction of justice. He got a ninety day suspended sentence and three years of probation plus a $1,000 fine.

Former assistant clerk Portia Snead pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor obstruction of justice.

Judge Henry W. Hight Jr. told the defendants, "I don't get it. The only thing I can say is it had to come about from stupidity born of arrogance."

Charges are still pending against Jaeger. She faces three felony counts of obstruction of justice and 83 misdemeanor counts of failing to perform her duty of office. She has not entered a plea, which means she may fight the charges in a trial.

Attorney General Roy Cooper said in a statement, "we expect those who serve as officers of the court to have the highest ethical standards. When the people we trust to uphold the law break it, our system of justice is threatened. Rooting out this corruption in the courts will help restore the system's integrity."
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By myrak on 01/26 04:12 AM
The Officer of the Court responsible for insuring those charged was, in fact, guilty of PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT, and is still the ONLY ONE not prosecuted or punished. Attorney General Roy Cooper seems unaware of all the vast Prosecutorial Misconduct which goes unpunished, even DA;s who pay criminals to lie on the stand are still on duty. The only DA to be disbarred EVER in NC is Mike Nifong. My opinion is that he wanted the case to go to court for a trial. Roy Cooper and the Defense Attorneys did not want it to go to a trial in a court of law - and so it was. Did AG Roy Cooper have the 'authority' to declare a verdict without a trial, without sworn testimony, without evidence validated by a judge, without sworm expert testimony in a court of law? If he has that kind of authority, why bother with trials and judges and juries? Just send the package to Cooper and let him decide. Cooper uses the term "corruption in the courts" as if the court is responsible, not his District Attorney who is responsible to prosecute the offenders. Off the subject: where was Mr. Cooper when Shaniya Davis was missing and being brutally raped and then murdered? Mr. Cooper always presents himself as the savior of our children from child predators. Now that NC has been identified as a PRIME DESTINATION for Human Trafficking, what does Mr. Cooper intend to do? Why is he so silent on this issue?


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