Montana Attorney to be Suspended for “Unethical Adoption Case”

“A Billings attorney with a history of being disciplined for unethical practices is facing suspension again, this time for misleading a district judge in an adoption case — which resulted in a girl being adopted without her father’s consent — and hampering an investigation into his conduct.

In orders filed in two cases last week, the Montana Supreme Court ordered that Roy W. Johnson Jr. be suspended from practicing law for three months beginning Sept. 1 and then for seven months beginning Dec. 1.

Johnson, who contested findings in both cases, could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday. The phone number listed for his office is out-of-service.

Records indicate Johnson started practicing law in 1979 and that he has been disciplined by the Supreme Court at least three times prior to these two cases.

Daughter adopted away without father’s consent

In one of the two cases, Johnson misled District Judge Gregory R. Todd in a 2007 adoption proceeding, which resulted in a girl being adopted by her step-father without her father’s consent, according to a complaint filed by Jon. G. Moog, an investigator with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Johnson testified on his own behalf before the Commission on Practice, which found he violated the Montana Rules of Professional Conduct for lawyers, records say.

According to the complaint, a husband and wife with two children separated in 2003. While paternity of one of the children was unclear, records say the husband was legally recognized as the father and the former couple shared custody of both kids, based on a parenting plan established in 2004 by District Judge G. Todd Baugh.

The mother hired Johnson as her attorney in 2006 after the father sought to change the parenting plan, records say.

Johnson was “well aware” of the shared custody of the children, the existing parenting plan and the established father-daughter relationship in the matter, the complaint states.

In 2007, Johnson filed a petition — in a different court, presided by District Judge Gregory R. Todd — seeking to have the girl adopted by her mother’s new husband.

Todd allowed the adoption, after ruling, based on Johnson’s petition, that no other parties were interested in the adoption proceeding, records say.

According to Moog, Johnson knew this wasn’t true and failed to inform the judge about the existing parenting plan and did not notify the girl’s father about the adoption proceeding.

The matter went to trial before Baugh in July 2012. He ruled that the mother of the girl went through with the adoption in an effort to interfere with her ex-husband’s parental rights, Moog states.

Baugh also ruled that Todd had not been provided with, as required by law, notice of the pre-existing parenting plan.

The status of the girl’s custody wasn’t immediately clear Wednesday.

Complaint: Johnson delayed investigation

In the second Johnson case, Moog discusses two ethics grievances filed against Johnson.

In the first grievance, a husband and wife complained about Johnson to the Office of Disciplinary Council after retaining him to defend their foster care license from being taken away and to help them adopt their foster children.

In the second grievance, a man complained about Johnson after hiring him to defend against a DUI charge.

Moog’s complaint doesn’t elaborate on the details of either matter, but states that Johnson failed to cooperate with records requests and the investigation into his handling of the two cases.

According to the Supreme Court’s order, Johnson’s failure to cooperate with the investigation delayed review for two years.

Court records indicate the Supreme Court has disciplined Johnson before.

In 2008, the Supreme Court publicly censured Johnson for violating rules of conduct. In 2011, he was again publicly censured and put on probation for two years. Later that same year he was suspended from practicing law for 60 days in a separate matter.”

Billings Attorney to be suspended for unethical adoption case,withholding records[Billings Gazette 7/30/14 by Eddie Gregg]

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