Court hears arguments on possible reprimand for former prosecutor

By Ra'Vae Edwards redwards@newstribune.com

Published: Saturday, September 13, 2008 11:47 PM CDT

The Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in a case to determine if a former Lake Ozark municipal prosecutor will be publicly reprimanded.

Attorney Warren Steven Rives pled guilty to a charge of official misconduct in October 2007 in Shelby County.

Carl Schaeperkoetter, staff attorney with the Office of Chief Disciplinary Council, said a public reprimand is issued by the Supreme Court if it is determined an attorney has broken the rules.

However, a public reprimand does not mean the attorney will be suspended from practicing law in Missouri.

Instead, Schaeperkoetter said the information is disseminated to media outlets that attorneys are likely to read, such as Missouri Lawyers Weekly, which will serve as an embarrassment to the attorney.

A brief submitted in May by Chief Disciplinary Counsel Alan D. Pratzel, asks that Rives be publicly reprimanded because he pled guilty to a misdemeanor involving interference with the administration of justice.

Rives was charged with official misconduct after a 2006 investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol determined he accepted money to “resolve” multiple charges against a female in the Lake area while he was employed as municipal prosecutor in Lake Ozark.

Tim Cisar, representing Rives, said he wanted the case moved to Shelby County because Rives is a practicing attorney in the Lake area.

Court records indicate Rives entered a guilty plea and was ordered to pay a $500 fine plus $274.50 in restitution to Lake Ozark.

Cisar told the justices he was not arguing that Rives did everything right in this case, but that no clients were harmed by Rives' doings and he does not believe a suspension would be a benefit to society.

Cisar also said he does not believe Rives was doing anything for his personal gain.

It was also noted that other allegations involving Rives accepting sex or money for “resolving” municipal charges were unfounded.

Rives was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 1991. He has had two prior admonitions for violations in 1997 and 1998.

The first was for withholding deeds from a client's file after the client discharged him and the second was for a violation in which he continued to act as a prosecutor in a case in which he had a conflict of interest.

A ruling from the court in this case could take up to 90 days.


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Thanks.

informer wrote on Sep 15, 2008 11:15 PM:

" How many times does this guy get to break the law? He not only should be publicly repremanded, he should have his license revoked in the state of Missouri. 3 times of breaking the law and he is allowed to still practice??? How many more things did he do illegally that he didn't get caught at? I personally know of one case where he told a guy if he would sign divorce papers, his DWI would go away!!! Of course the guy wouldn't say anything about that deal, it helped him.

I would bet he was also taking money under the table and I know he was doing favors for friends.

He is a crook! "

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