CHARLESTON – The state Supreme Court has refused to grant an emergency petition seeking the immediate and indefinite suspension of a Fayette County attorney who brandished a gun outside an ice cream parlor.
In the May 9 memorandum decision, the justices said they declined to grant the petition because James W. Keenan already was serving a six-month suspension of his license they handed down November 14. The court says Keenan does not pose a substantial threat to irreparable harm to the public and that Keenan may be reinstated only upon petition to the court.
But the justices do note concern about new allegations contained in the Office of Disciplinary Counsel’s emergency petition.
In addition to allegedly brandishing a gun and causing a disturbance at a Fayetteville ice cream parlor, Keenan forwarded a concerning message on social media to Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Ewing and Family Court Judge Matthew England and “highly offensive text messages” to a deputy chief probation officer. The decision also says Keenan failed to attend a properly noticed hearing, resulting in a motion granted in favor of the opposing party and was admonished by the Investigative Panel of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board for threats to opposing counsel.
According to the criminal complaint regarding the ice cream parlor incident, Fayetteville Police Department Sergeant Shaun Maynor wrote that he was called to The Stache on July 25, 2023. Benjamin Morgan, whose office shares a parking lot with the parlor, told the officer Keenan had been in the parking lot in his vehicle honking the horn. Morgan’s daughter worked at The Stache as well.
When Morgan went outside to see what was going on, he says Keenan told him, “I want some f---ing ice cream.” When Morgan asked Keenan not to use profanity because children were in the area, he says Keenan became “very angry” and noticed Keenan was pointing a gun at him.
“While pointing the weapon … Keenan was screaming that he would shoot him (Morgan) and whoop his ass,” the criminal complaint states.”
It also says a woman from Illinois told Maynor’s partner that she and her daughter heard Keenan threatening to shoot a man on a balcony and that “he kept repeating it over and over again.”
The ODC says Keenan invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked about the ice cream parlor incident. The Supreme Court decision says the charges related to the incident still are pending in magistrate court.
The emergency petition also says Ewing sent a letter to the ODC regarding a July 14, 2023, Facebook message Keenan sent to him and England with a link to a Facebook post Keenan had made saying he had been criticized by the ODC for using the f-word to clients, so he replaced it with the word coitus throughout the message, ending it with, “The WV State Bar ODC can go COITUS themselves!”
On September 21, 2023, Fayette County Deputy Chief Probation Officer Jennifer Smith said Keenan sent her a profane text message saying he wanted to have sexual relations with her.
“Emergency petitions … should be utilized in the ‘most extreme cases of lawyer misconduct,’” the justices’ decision states. “While the allegations against Mr. Keenan indicate a concerning escalation in misconduct, his current suspension curtails his ability to cause imminent or irreparable harm through the practice of law. …
“Indeed, ODC can investigate the new allegations against Mr. Keenan and, if warranted, bring charges against him at any time. Even if we granted this petition, it would simply trigger the standard disciplinary process of conducting an investigation and holding a hearing before HPS.”
The justices say they don’t want the denial of the request to be seen as critical of the ODC filing it or the seriousness of Keenan’s conduct. When the emergency petition was filed, the court had not yet suspended Keenan.
“Additionally, ODC can bring any concerns alleged in its emergency petition to this court’s attention if Mr. Keenan petitions the court for reinstatement upon expiration of his current suspension,” the decision states.
In September, the LDB’s Hearing Panel Subcommittee recommended the six-month suspension. In that two-count report, the HPS detailed two complaints filed against Keenan by former clients.
One woman said Keenan pushed her against the wall in an elevator and kissed her on the lips. The woman said she felt “violated and highly uncomfortable” and that Keenan “overstepped professional boundaries.” The second woman said Keenan sexually harassed her during his representation of her, including making comments about her breasts and touching her bottom.
In addition to the six-month suspension, Keenan also is required to complete three additional hours of continuing legal education in ethics, specifically about unwanted advances and/or sexual harassment and misconduct. He also was required to pay for the costs of the disciplinary proceedings.
Keenan previously has been censured by the state Supreme Court and admonished at least four times. In 2000, the court ordered an evaluation for bipolar disorder or alcoholism and treatment if needed. He has been licensed to practice law in the state since 1980.
Justices John Hutchison and Bill Wooton, both of whom are from neighboring Raleigh County, disqualified themselves from the case. Circuit Judges Cindy Scott and Robert A. Waters heard the case instead.
West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals case number 23-619