NEW ORLEANS — Mandeville attorney Linda Louise Stadler faces possible deferred suspension and probation following a July 13 Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) recommendation to the state Supreme Court over her second DWI in 12 years.
The LADB recommended Stadler receive a fully deferred six-month suspension subject to two years of probation. The LADB's 15-page recommendation follows a hearing committee's legal conclusions and its own recommendations filed in October.
Stadler was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 11, 1996, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. Stadler had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to the the LADB's recommendation.
"Because [Stadler] has engaged in driving while intoxicated on at least two occasions, albeit years apart, the board finds that a probation period of two years is appropriate," the recommendation said.
Adjudicative committee member Dominick Scandurro Jr. dissented from the recommendation, saying he would have dismissed the charges.
"Although [Stadler] has admitted to rule violations and is willing to accept a suspension, I do not believe any sanctions are required in order to uphold the disciplinary process," Scandurro said in his dissent.
In October, a LADB hearing committee recommended Stadler receive a fully deferred 12-month suspension and that she be ordered to pay costs. The hearing committee's 10-page recommendation followed Stadler's 2002 and 2014 guilty pleas to separate DWI charges. In testimony before the hearing committee, Stadler said "she totally cut alcohol out of her life" following her first DWI and that the "few drinks" she had Aug. 30, 2014, the day she received her second DWI, had been her first in those 12 years.
"Since Aug. 30, 2014, she has not consumed any alcohol," the hearing committee's recommendation said.
The hearing committee found Stadler does not suffer an ongoing alcohol problem that requires treatment.
"Additionally, the panel finds that she is not dishonest and made a good faith effort to rectify her conduct," the hearing committee's recommendation said. "She was cooperative with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the judges and lawyers assistance program. She has good character and a good reputation. She exhibited remorse as a result of the incident. She understands that this type of event reflects negatively on the profession."