Disbarred attorney charged with using another lawyer's name in traffic-court case
A disbarred North Carolina attorney was charged with criminal contempt and is being held in lieu of $300,000 bond after allegedly using the name of another state lawyer while representing a client in a traffic court hearing.
Court officials in Columbus County Superior Court didn’t recognize Nicholas Andrew Stratas, 57, who claimed to be attorney James Smith of New Hanover County when he appeared for a client in a speeding case, WECT reports. So they asked for North Carolina bar identification.
“Smith” couldn’t produce any and left. But Judge Fred Gore asked a bailiff to bring the would-be traffic case counsel back for questioning, court clerk Jess Hill told the station. Contempt charges resulted.
“This isn’t something we’ve encountered before,” Hill said.
Stratas was disbarred in 2013 after pleading guilty in another county to obstruction of justice, forgery, embezzlement and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
The WECT article doesn’t include any comment from Stratas or his legal counsel.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Facing Client-Fund Claims Is Now Jailed in Auto-Theft Case”
