From the National Law Journal (via the ABA Journal) a story about an Arizona attorney who faces suspension for telling her client that mention of sex in emails were from his deceased client's wife.
The lawyer, Charna Johnson, testified in the subsequent disciplinary hearing on the channeling claims that vague references to sex in e-mails she sent to the client were from the client’s deceased wife, and there was no sexual contact, according to the hearing officer’s report (PDF). The National Law Journal has the story.
The hearing on the channeling allegations pitted two experts who disagreed on whether Johnson must have been delusional. A state expert said that’s the inevitable conclusion, since there is no scientific evidence to support channeling, while Johnson’s expert said that’s an inappropriate value judgment that may contravene the religious beliefs of millions of people.
Johnson began representing the client during his divorce proceedings in January 2000. The client’s wife committed suicide a few months later, and Johnson later co-represented him in probate proceedings.
Johnson and the client both testified that they genuinely believed the client’s wife was within Johnson. Two witnesses agreed. The client felt his wife had come back to heal some of the damage from her prescription drug use.
The attorney said she had her first experience on or about the day of her client's wife's funeral, according to the hearing officer's report.
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