Jenna Ellis, Donald Trump’s former lawyer who pleaded guilty last year in Georgia to a felony charge of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state, is barred from practicing law for three years in Colorado.
Ellis agreed to a stipulated disciplinary order with the Colorado Solicitors’ Office regulatory attorney, which was approved Tuesday by a judge. To reinstate her law license at the end of the three-year suspension, she will need to file a petition.
Colorado law states that any person convicted of a crime “shall be disqualified…from practicing law in any court in this state during the actual period of confinement or commitment to imprisonment or upon release from effective detention under conditions of probation.”
“Although disbarment is the presumptive sanction for (Ellis’) misconduct, it is significant that his criminal culpability was due to his conduct as an accomplice and not as a matter of principle,” the stipulation states. “She has also expressed remorse and acknowledged the harm caused by her misconduct and has taken concrete and meaningful steps to mitigate the harm caused by her misconduct.” »
In a letter earlier this month to the Colorado Supreme Court, the Office of Regulatory Counsel and the judge presiding over his disciplinary case, Ellis expressed his regret.
“At the beginning of my involvement, I sincerely believed that the election challenges were made in good faith – essentially a replay of Bush v. This is not a Gore situation, but an effort to undermine public confidence in the integrity of elections,” she wrote. “But I admit that I was overzealous in believing the “facts” peddled to support the challenge, which were fabricated and false. If I had done my duty by investigating these alleged facts before presenting them as the truth, I do not believe I would be here. I turned a blind eye to the possibility that the Trump campaign’s top lawyers accepted claims that they knew or should have known were false. I simply accepted. “I was wrong.”
She added: “I hope to encourage those who might still believe that
The election was “stolen” to consider changing positions. Everything that has come out since has not proven this claim.
Ellis pleaded guilty in Georgia in October to one count of aiding and abetting making false statements and writings. The Associated Press reported that she faces charges of violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, and solicitation of violation of oath by a public official, both crimes.
Ellis was sentenced to five years probation and ordered to perform 100 hours of community service. She had agreed to cooperate with Georgia prosecutors as their case against Trump and his other aides moves forward.
The Coloradan played a public role in Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in 2020, often appearing at news conferences and on television to spread election conspiracies.
Ellis was previously censured by the Colorado Prosecutors’ Office in March 2023 for violating a policy prohibiting “reckless, knowing or intentional misrepresentations by attorneys.”
Before working with Trump, Ellis was a prosecutor in Weld County, a position from which she was fired in 2013 for making errors in cases, according to documents obtained by the Colorado Sun.
Ellis “failed to meet the Employer’s expectations” and “made errors on matters that the Employer believes she should not have made,” according to a Department of Labor and Employment document. Colorado Jobs.
Another report states that Ellis, who held the title of assistant prosecutor in the Weld County Prosecutor’s Office, was fired for “unsatisfactory performance.”
“The employer noted that some cases being processed did not comply with the Victims’ Rights Act,” the state labor department document said. “…It appears from the documents that the plaintiff did not follow proper protocol for some of the cases she handled.”
The Victims’ Rights Act is a state law that ensures victims are involved and informed about the prosecution of their abuser. There is also a federal version that offers similar insurance and protections.