NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) – Mandeville attorney Linda Louise Stadler received a fully deferred suspension and Baton Rouge attorney Durward D. Casteel was voluntarily and indefinitely suspended in separate Nov. 5 actions by the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Stadler's suspension, fully deferred and followed by two years probation, was handed down over her second DWI in 12 years, according to the high court's seven-page attorney disciplinary proceeding.
"This court's prior jurisprudence addressing attorneys in similar circumstances indicates that a fully deferred suspension, subject to a period of probation, is the appropriate sanction here," the high court said in its attorney disciplinary proceeding.
Stadler's probationary period is expected to begin from the date she and the office of disciplinary counsel execute a formal probation plan. Any failure to comply with probation conditions or any misconduct could be grounds to make the deferred suspension executory.
Stadler also was ordered to pay all costs in the matter.
Stadler was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 11, 1996, according to her profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website.
The high court's disciplinary proceeding against Stadler followed the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board's recommendation in July for the same discipline.
In a separate order, the high court handed down an indefinite suspension against Casteel following his and the office of disciplinary counsel's joint petition for interim suspension filed with the court. Casteel's suspension, which was effective immediately, is "pending further orders of this court," according to the order.
The order did not give any other reason for the interim suspension. An online search of the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board's database turned up no prior disciplines for Casteel.
Casteel was admitted to the bar in Louisiana on Oct. 7, 1988, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. Castell was listed in September as ineligible to practice law in Louisiana because of unpaid bar and disciplinary dues, according to information on his state bar profile.