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On the evening of December 15, 2011,
Attorney Ford and his wife arrived at the
Redwood City, California Caltrain station to
take a train to their home in San
Francisco. Ford had a pass and boarded the
train while his wife bought a ticket from
the ticket processor on the train deck. As
the doors of the train began to close, Ford
intervened and held the doors open so his
wife could board the train.
After boarding, a Caltrain conductor
approached Ford and told him he needed to
leave the train because he had created
an “unsafe environment” by holding the doors
open for his wife. When Ford refused to
leave the train, law enforcement officers
from San Mateo County and Redwood City were
dispatched to the train. The officers asked
Ford and his wife to leave the train. Ford
refused to exit and insisted that he had
done nothing wrong, at which point the
officers took steps to arrest and forcibly
remove Ford from the train. Ford actively
resisted removal from the train, and
responded to an officer’s commands by
telling the officer, “Fuck you, get off
me!” Ford also called the officer
a “douchebag.”
After removal from the train, Ford
continued to resist. He ignored law
enforcement commands that he sit down on a
bench. He continued to yell and scream that
law enforcement had no authority over him.
At one point, according to police reports,
Ford bit a deputy on the inside of his
forearm, and in response to the bite the
deputy punched Ford in the face three times,
breaking Ford’s nose. Police reports
further state that when the deputy tried to
assist another officer, who according to
police reports was being kicked by Ford’s
wife, Ford reached for the deputy’s Taser
and baton. Ultimately, another deputy used
pepper spray to subdue Ford, who continued
to struggle, scream and yell. At this
point, the officers requested back-up, and
additional law enforcement officers arrived
to assist in subduing Ford. Ford was
restrained on a gurney and transported to
San Mateo County General Hospital for
treatment. During this time, Ford commanded
his wife to call 911 to have someone other
than “these dickhead cops” come help him.
According to incident reports, Ford was
intoxicated and had marijuana in his
possession. The Caltrain train was delayed
27 minutes at the station due to the
incident.
On January 6, 2012, the District
Attorney for San Mateo County, California,
charged Ford with multiple misdemeanor
counts, including resisting arrest and
battery on an officer. See People of
California v. Jeremy Ford, Superior Court
of
California, County of San Mateo, Case No.
SM379337B.
On February 6, 2013, Ford pleaded no
contest to one count of resisting arrest
(misdemeanor), in violation of California
Penal Code 148(a)(1), and all remaining
charges were dismissed. The Court
sentenced Ford to 20 days in jail, (sentence
suspended with community service), probation
for two years, and applicable fines.
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By engaging in conduct leading to his
conviction for one misdemeanor count of
resisting arrest in violation of California
PC 148(a), Ford violated SCR 20:8.4(b),
which states, “It is professional misconduct
for a lawyer to commit a criminal act that
reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty,
trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in
other respects.”
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By refusing to cooperate with law
enforcement, actively resisting arrest,
biting a law enforcement officer, and
otherwise engaging in belligerent and
obstreperous conduct, Ford engaged in
offensive personality, in violation of SCR
20:8.4(g), which provides, “It is
professional misconduct to: . . . (g)
violate the Attorney’s Oath” and SCR 40.15
(the Attorney’s Oath) which states, in
pertinent part, “I will abstain from all
offensive personality.”
While Ford provided telephonic
notice that he had been convicted of a
criminal charge, Ford failed to provide
timely written notice to the clerk of the
Supreme Court of Wisconsin and the Office of
Lawyer Regulation of his conviction, even
after being reminded of this obligation by
the Office of Lawyer Regulation.
Accordingly, Ford violated SCR 21.15(5),
which states, “An attorney found guilty or
convicted of any crime on or after July 1,
2002, shall notify in writing the office of
lawyer regulation and the clerk of the
Supreme Court within 5 days after the
finding or conviction, which ever first
occurs.” SCR 21.15(5) is enforceable
through SCR 20:8.4(f), which states, “It is
professional misconduct for a lawyer to
violate a . . . supreme court rule . . .
regulating the conduct of lawyers."
Ford has no prior discipline.
In accordance with SCR 22.09, Attorney
Jeremy T. Ford of Redwood City, California,
is hereby publicly reprimanded.
Dated this 24th day of April, 2014.
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