NEW ORLEANS (Louisiana Record) — Baton Rouge attorney and former East Baton Rouge District Attorney David Gardner deBlieux faces possible suspension following a split Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board (LADB) recommendation after his arrest for allegedly assaulting his estranged wife and another man in 2017.
In its majority 24-page recommendation to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the LADB recommended deBlieux be suspended for two years and ordered to pay all costs and expenses. Two board members dissented, stating they would recommend a shorter suspension while another board member recused.
The LADB's recommendation follows a hearing committee's recommendation in June 2018 that deBlieux be suspended for a year and a day.
DeBlieux was admitted to the bar in Louisiana Oct. 15, 2004, according to his profile at the Louisiana State Bar Association's website. He had no prior discipline before the state bar, according to the LADB's recommendation.
The attorney has stipulated he engaged in three misdemeanors of simple battery, domestic abuse battery, and simple criminal damage to property, in addition to felony unauthorized entering of an inhabited dwelling, according to the LADB's recommendation. His two minor children were in his car watching and crying during the lengthy incident.
DeBlieux "was not fully prosecuted" following the incident but, instead, was allowed to participate in a pretrial intervention program, a single six-hour online course, and to pay "several hundreds of dollars in fees and costs," the LADB recommendation said.
The attorney has claimed his misconduct resulted from "a mental disability," that he has been remorseful and cooperative, and has recommended he receive a public reprimand or a fully deferred suspension," the LADB recommendation said.
The LADB disagreed, saying deBlieux misconduct "caused serious harm," including damage to the front door of his wife's home and vehicle, physical injury to her guest, simple battery against her, and "upset to his minor children."
The incident could have been even worse, perhaps resulting in greater injury and even death, according to the LADB recommendation.
"And while the evidence, thankfully, indicates that the children have experienced no lingering effects from what they heard that evening, [deBlieux]'s misconduct created the potential for harmful psychological ramifications for his children," the recommendation noted. "Furthermore, [deBlieux]'s actions and the resulting publicity reflect adversely on the profession as a whole."