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On Nov. 14, 2023, Scott Bauer pleaded guilty in Denver County Court to driving under the influence — alcohol 2nd offense, which is a class 1 misdemeanor. Bauer was sentenced to a two-year probation, 60 days in home detention, 56 hours of community service, participation in a Mothers Against Drunk Driving panel, Level II alcohol education, 68 hours of therapy and alcohol monitoring.
The presiding disciplinary judge approved Bauer’s stipulation to discipline and publicly censured Bauer with conditions, effective May 9.
In September 2017, Robert Houton was a contractor for the Colorado Office of Alternative Defense Counsel. He was appointed to represent the client in their pro se petition for postconviction relief in a criminal matter. Early in the representation, Houton met with his client to discuss the petition. Houton advised the client that investigating the client’s claims could take a long time and asked the client not to call him. Houton obtained a copy of the client’s file and, in April 2018, he filed a status report with the court, requesting 180 days to complete his investigation and to submit any supplemental motions on his client’s behalf. But Houton never filed anything else with the court.
In 2021, having received no updates on his case, the client attempted to contact Houton. Houton didn’t respond to the client’s attempts to communicate with him. In January 2023, an advocate wrote to Houton on the client’s behalf and reported the matter to ADC. Houton contacted the client that month. During a video visit in May 2023, Houton told the client that because he had nothing to add to the petition, he wouldn’t file a supplemental petition. Houton didn’t file a status report updating the court about the case. Around that same time, Houton accepted a position with a public defender’s office that didn’t allow him to continue the representation. But he didn’t notify the court or his client about the new position and didn’t withdraw from the case.
In August 2023, Houton’s laptop containing the client’s file and all information pertaining to the client’s case was stolen during a home burglary. Houton didn’t maintain a backup of the client’s file and lost all information related to the case, including his work on the matter.
The presiding disciplinary judge approved Houton’s stipulation to discipline and suspended him for six months, all to be stayed upon Houton’s successful completion of a two-year conditional probation, effective May 16.