Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board v. Newman

STREIT, Justice.

An attorney presented a judge with two orders to approve. The judge agreed to both orders but overlooked signing one of them. The attorney realized what had happened when he returned to his office. He forged the judge’s signature on the unsigned-but-approved order and filed it with the clerk of court. When confronted, the attorney admitted the forgery and apologized. The Grievance Commission privately admonished the attorney for this ethical violation. The Board appealed arguing forgery is a serious violation and warrants public discipline. We agree and publicly reprimand the…