The Idaho State Bar Counsel has launched six investigations into John Bujak’s professional conduct and recommended suspension on two, but all of the pending disciplinary matters would be put on hold under an agreement filed Wednesday between Bujak and the bar.
If the Idaho Supreme Court approves, Bujak’s law license will be suspended during his prosecution on felony charges of stealing $236,000 from Canyon County and during the State Bar’s disciplinary proceedings, which will resume after the criminal case concludes.
The time Bujak spends on interim suspension would be deducted from any suspension or disbarment — which lasts five years — that the State Bar may ultimately levy against the former prosecutor, Bar Counsel Bradley Andrews said.
That’s the main purpose for the stipulation Bujak signed, Andrews said: “He would like credit for time served.”
Bujak posted a statement on his Facebook page Wednesday: “The Canyon County allegations have been pending for almost a year and a half. Hopefully, the system will observe my constitutional and statutory rights to a speedy trial so that I can finally get my day in court and put this episode behind me.”
Bujak, who quit as prosecutor Sept. 30, 2010, was arrested two weeks ago after a long investigation into his personal use of money from a contract to use county resources to prosecute misdemeanor cases for the city of Nampa. He is free on bond and will have a preliminary hearing Jan. 25.
He has been working as an attorney but could no longer do that under the planned suspension.
Half of the State Bar’s pending cases against Bujak are on hold because they stem from his handling of a Nampa contract while he was county prosecutor, Andrews said. The bar began an investigation about six weeks after Bujak resigned, and two other parties subsequently filed grievances related to the same issues.
But in February Bujak was able to postpone those probes until the criminal case is resolved because of Fifth Amendment issues, Andrews said. The Fifth guarantees a person’s right against self-incrimination.
The bar also is investigating three other grievances:
- An allegation Bujak wrongfully took $3,780 in payments for the estate of a former client in 2008.
- An allegation he violated professional standards when he prepared a will for an elderly woman in 2006 that bequeathed her estate to Bujak and his assistant.
- A new grievance, filed Nov. 21. Andrews declined to detail the allegations.
All six will be put on hold if the Idaho Supreme Court approves the stipulation.
Kristin Rodine: 377-6447
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