CAPE LAWYER PLEADS GUILTY TO DWI, HAVING MARIJUANA

A Cape Girardeau attorney pleaded guilty this week to misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and possession of marijuana.

William Shohet pleaded guilty on Tuesday and received fines and suspended sentences.

On the marijuana charge, Judge Byron Luber of Pemiscot County sentenced Shohet to one year in the county jail, but suspended the sentence in lieu of two years of supervised probation. Additionally, Shohet received a $500 fine.

For DWI, a six-month county jail sentence was suspended in favor of two years of supervised probation and another $500 fine.

Both the judge and the prosecutor, Kevin Zoellmer of the state attorney general's office, were requested in place of Cape Girardeau officials.

Shohet had been arrested for possession of marijuana on Feb. 19, and for driving while intoxicated on March 31.

Whether disciplinary actions would be taken against Shohet by the Missouri Bar Association is undecided, said John Howe, the chief disciplinary counsel for the state Supreme Court.

Discipline for an attorney who commits a misdemeanor crime must be investigated before a decision is reached, Howe said. Only a select group of misdemeanors warrant disciplinary action, and they include fraud, interference with justice, theft and moral turpitude.

"We have to look at all factors to see if it merits filing in the Supreme Court," he said.