People v. Farr.
No. 23PDJ015. 4/13/2023. Stipulation to Discipline.
May 1, 2023
The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ stipulation to discipline and suspended Delphine L. Farr (attorney registration number 36094) for six months. Before Farr can seek reinstatement to the practice of law after her suspension, she must first successfully complete her four-year felony probation in her criminal case, per CRS § 18-1.3-401(3). If her law license remains suspended for longer than one year, she will be required to petition for reinstatement by operation of CRCP 242.39(a)(2). Farr’s suspension was effective on May 18, 2023.
On February 20, 2022, Farr was arrested and charged with criminal conduct. The charges arose from an altercation at the home of the girlfriend of Farr’s ex-husband. Farr went to the house to say goodbye to her dying dog, but after entering the home Farr became upset. Farr punched her ex-husband in the face, grabbed his genitals, and tore his sweatshirt; Farr also pushed her ex-husband’s girlfriend, pulled her hair, and bit her, leaving a mark. There were at least two children present at the time. Law enforcement was summoned, but Farr resisted arrest, including by attempting to throw herself down the stairs and by kicking the windows of a squad car from the inside. Officers had to place her in the back of a squad car with the use of “the wrap,” a strong fabric material that prevents people from thrashing around.
Farr was also criminally charged on March 1, 2022, based on a separate incident in which Farr physically attacked her boyfriend, who was a protected party under a restraining order in the criminal case. She ripped his shirt and scratched his neck. Farr again resisted arrest, requiring officers to carry her to the police car.
Farr pleaded guilty to a four-year deferred sentence based on trespass of a dwelling, a class 5 felony, and assault, a class 1 misdemeanor. She also pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, a class 2 misdemeanor; this was not a deferred sentence. Farr was sentenced in September 2022 to five days in jail, with credit for time served; fines and costs; and probation, including 50 hours of community service, a drug and alcohol evaluation, an apology letter to the victim, and drug and alcohol abstinence and monitoring.
Through this conduct, Farr violated Colo. RPC 8.4(b) (it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects).