Chambers' disciplinary hearing begins

Rocky Mountain News

Published October 23, 2006 at midnight

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A disciplinary hearing began today to determine if Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers used the power of her office to intimidate a lawyer trying to collect a debt from a friend of hers.

The chief prosecutor for Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties, is accused of threatening Jonathan Steiner, a lawyer for Central Credit Corp., with a grand jury investigation after Steiner tried to collect for bad checks from Englewood City Councilwoman Laurett Barrentine.

The allegation by Steiner was investigated by the Attorney Regulation Council, which works under the state Supreme Court.

Chambers said earlier that the Attorney Regulation Council is investigating the wrong person.

"This has always been an interesting case to me because the Attorney Regulation Council has been turning a blind eye to the conduct of Mr. Steiner," Chambers said.

But John Gleason, head of the Regulation Council, said the inquiry into Chambers' conduct is warranted.

"Based on our investigation, Mr. Steiner did absolutely nothing wrong," John Gleason said. "He had a professional obligation to report what he felt was misconduct by Mrs. Chambers."

If found guilty, Chambers' punishment could range from a private or public admonition, to disbarment, said Gleason, although it's unlikely the harshest punishment will be handed down.

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