Cape lawyer charged with misdemeanors

~ Disciplinary action from the Missouri Bar is unlikely for misdemeanor DWI.

Drunken driving and other traffic charges were filed this week against a Cape Girardeau lawyer. The charges stemmed from a Memorial Day weekend traffic stop.

Derrick R. Williams, 47, was charged Friday with driving while intoxicated, speeding and having no proof of insurance, all misdemeanors, according to Missouri attorney general spokesman Scott Holste.

A Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper pulled Williams over around 3:20 a.m. May 27 on Highway 74 near Sprigg Street, patrol Lt. Steve Niederkorn said.

The case was being prosecuted by the attorney general's office because of a conflict of interest with the office of Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle.

Williams represents several defendants whose cases are pending in Swingle's office, including Bernard Richards, accused in the Jan. 25 slaying of a 17-year-old boy in Cape Girardeau.

Swingle filed a motion with the court for the appointment of a special prosecutor following Williams' arrest, and it was granted by Circuit Judge Benjamin Lewis.

The maximum punishment for a conviction of the DWI charge is six months in jail and a $500 fine. The most Williams could receive for the two other charges if convicted are up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine, Holste said.

According to Dawn Parsons, chairwoman of the Criminal Law Committee for the Missouri Bar, the charges against Williams were "fairly minor."

In her experience, no lawyer has faced disciplinary action from the Bar for misdemeanor DWI, she said.

When reached by telephone, Williams declined comment.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127