By Shirley Henderson
The Iowa Supreme Court has reinstated the law license of a former city attorney who was convicted of dealing marijuana. (Image from Shutterstock)
The Iowa Supreme Court has reinstated the law license of a former city attorney who was convicted of dealing marijuana.
Lawyer Don Richard John Bauermeister worked as a full-time assistant city attorney for the city of Council Bluffs, Iowa, and he operated a part-time criminal defense practice.
According to prosecutors, Bauermeister was still a city attorney in late 2016 and early 2017 when he was trafficking marijuana with a co-conspirator who traveled from Omaha, Nebraska, to Medford, Oregon, where the lawyer sold the drugs. The co-conspirator made three trips between the two states, according to coverage by the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
During the third trip, the co-conspirator was stopped by a Utah state trooper who found marijuana and phone texts connecting him to Bauermeister.
Bauermeister reported himself to the Iowa Supreme Court’s Attorney Disciplinary Board, and in 2017, he pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess and distribute a controlled substance. His law license was revoked, and he was received five years of probation and was fined $5,000. The state high court reinstated his license, noting successful completion of probation in 2023.
“The court is satisfied that Bauermeister has demonstrated that he is of good moral character and worthy of readmission to the practice of law in Iowa,” the state supreme court concluded.
Bauermeister said Wednesday his life has changed dramatically since 2017, according to the Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“I don’t do anything illegal anymore, and I’m not the same person I was,” he told the Iowa Capital Dispatch.