Missouri Supreme Court acts to suspend Cooper's law license

The Missouri Supreme Court issued an order late today giving former state representative Nathan Cooper 24 hours to present reasons why his law license should not be suspended.

The action, called an "order to show cause," directs Cooper to respond by 5 p.m. Thursday. The order was signed by Chief Justice Laura Denvir Stith. Judge Stephen Limbaugh of Cape Girardeau did not participate in the decision.

The order cited Cooper's guilty plea to two federal felonies for immigration fraud. The illegal acts Cooper took involved his work as an attorney on behalf of trucking company clients seeking immigrant drivers. Cooper set up shell companies to seek bogus visas and purchased visas approved for workers in the hospitality industry and provided them to the truck drivers.

Most of the drivers were from New Zealand.

Cooper has acknowledged he would lose his law license as a result of the guilty pleas. But the day after he made the plea, he filed a lawsuit on behalf of a client seeking action on a petition for citizenship.

Under Missouri Supreme Court rules, the court may order the suspension of a lawyer's license pending a final action after a lawyer pleads guilty to a felony.

For updates, check back at www.semissourian.com or read Thursday's Southeast Missourian.

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View the pdf version of the show cause order from the Missouri Supreme Court