NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Baton Rouge attorney and former East Baton Rouge District Attorney David Gardner deBlieux faces possible suspension following a June 20 Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) hearing committee recommendation after his arrest last year for allegedly assaulting his estranged wife and another man.
LADB Hearing Committee No. 25's recommendation that deBlieux, 40, be suspended for a year and a day followed a two-day hearing in March. deBlieux had sought a public reprimand or fully deferred suspension but there were "some aggravating factors to consider," the recommendation said.
"There was an apparent selfish motive in [deBlieux]'s behavior, and it had the potential of putting several lives in danger," the committee's recommendation continued. "The crime he has admitted to is a crime of violence. Additionally, he has substantial experience [12 years] in the practice of law and was somewhat deceptive in dealing with the office of disciplinary counsel during the disciplinary process. For example, he was not consistent in his reasons given for why he departed the District Attorney’s Office. Given the nature and seriousness of the offence, a suspension of one year and one day from the practice of law would seem appropriate."
The suspension also would require assessment of deBlieux's "on-going therapy and whether or not he remains compliant before readmission to the practice of law," the recommendation said.
deBlieux was admitted to the bar in Louisiana Oct. 15, 2004, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. deBlieux had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to the hearing committee's recommendation.
deBlieux had been separated from his wife little more than a month when he allegedly broke into her home and assaulted her and another man during the early morning hours of March 4, 2017, according to details included in the committee's recommendation. deBlieux later used "a cement object/block" to smash through a window of his wife's vehicle.
The violence was witnessed by the couple's two young children who "were in his vehicle crying," the recommendation said. deBlieux subsequently was arrested on multiple counts including domestic abuse battery.
deBlieux is a personal injury attorney who joined Spencer Calahan Injury Lawyers after 10 years with the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, according to the firm's website.