But the outcome has been no better this time around than for the impeached American president and his one-time intern. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court sentenced David H. Knight to a one-year suspension for offering to represent his client in return for oral sex. The decision has not been taken lightly. The issues of the case are examined in detail. The ten-page petition to the Court, from the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court, says that this is the first documented case in the state in relation to the violation of the Pennsylvania Rule of Professional Conduct 1.8(j), effective from January 1 2005, and which prohibits all sexual relations between lawyers and their clients.
Alternative fees
Mr Knight, a criminal lawyer at Fioravanti & Knight in the town of Levittown, met his client in 2011. He quoted her a $1,000 fee to represent her in a drink driving case. When she said she lacked the funds, they began a discussion about an alternative way of paying the fee. After he locked his office door she carried out his proposal of oral sex. Although he never billed her for any of the money, they met in his office on two further occasions when oral sex also took place.
Difficult to prove
The petition examined other cases outside Pennsylvania of a similar nature - in Ohio and Iowa. Daily Report quotes Stuart Haimowitz, a lawyer specialises in ethics, who describes one of the interesting aspects of the case. He said: 'These are very, very difficult cases to prove in that they involve a consensual sexual relationship involving two people.'
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