Hours after we published our account of Katie Sears, an Iowa attorney and prostitute taking a break from the latter job, the Iowa Supreme Court suspended the law license of her husband and law practice partner John Sears, forcing her to take the whole load for the time being.
In the original coverage of Katie’s alternative career, many were impressed by her husband’s “I don’t really care that much” attitude about her sex work. Based on the findings of the Iowa Supreme Court, he seems to care far too deeply, indeed dangerously, about a lot of other stuff.
From the opinion written by Justice Susan Christensen:
Five months after his admittance, on February 6, 2018, law enforcement located Sears on a highway in Polk County pushing a heavily damaged, disabled vehicle. Sears indicated he rear-ended an unknown vehicle; he did not understand where he was or where the accident took place. Law enforcement located an open bottle of vodka in the back seat of Sears’s car. After failing field sobriety tests, Sears consented to a breath test, which returned a result of 0.181 blood alcohol concentration. He was then arrested for OWI in violation of Iowa Code section 321J.2 (2018).
Driving while intoxicated is a crime that far too many attorneys commit — a byproduct of overarching substance abuse issues in the profession and the dangerous overconfidence the profession preaches. Placing the public at risk is an entirely reasonable basis for discipline. John Sears was ordered per his one-year probation on the criminal charge to attend a treatment program. He never showed up.
This is where the facts in the opinion get decidedly dark:
About two weeks later, on October 7, West Des Moines police received a 911 call from Jane Doe. The 911 call revealed a panicked Doe explaining, “[M]y ex . . . is trying to break in” and “he was here and he attacked me and then I got him to leave, and then he came back.” As it turns out, Doe is Sears’s former spouse. Apparently, Doe and Sears divorced in May but remained intimate.
His ex, who he was suing for replevin of some sex toys characterized by the judge as “described in shocking detail,” spent the day with him at her apartment according to testimony, but at some point he became intoxicated and got Doe’s handgun and asked to kill himself with it. The account continues that Doe took back the handgun and hid it, Sears beat her, she gave him back the gun, he came back looking for bullets and she took the gun back, and then he left only to return later pounding on the door and prompting the 911 call.
When police found him, they took his phone and reported these texts with current wife Katie:
At 10:04:30 PM, Sears texted, “I’m drunk as fuck.”
At 10:04:38 PM, Sears texted, “7 have I gun.”
At 10:05:00 PM, Sears texted, “And I’m leaving her 7.”
At 10:05:37 PM, Sears texted, “Let this make you happy.”
At 10:06:31 PM, Sears texted, “I’ve assaulted her.”
At 10:07:34 PM, Sears texted, “I’ve threatened to kill myself. I can’t so with her.”
At 10:08:08 PM, Sears texted, “I don’t want to kill her.”
This resulted in a restraining order, the adjustment of his earlier probation to include “secured continuous remote alcohol monitoring,” and another one-year probation for the domestic assault.
While he denies violating the restraining order, his ex-wife states that he tried to contact her multiple times afterward and eventually came to her apartment on January 30, 2019. The disciplinary commission believed her side of the story and found the whole affair to be “precisely the sort of conduct which reflects a connection between the conduct and the fitness to practice law.” The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed those findings and decided to suspend John Sears from the practice of law in Iowa indefinitely with no possibility of reinstatement for two years.
Hopefully, with the pressures of practice lifted for the time being, he can get the help he needs.
(Check out the whole opinion on the next page.)
Earlier: People May Think All Lawyers Are Prostitutes, But This Lawyer Is Literally A Prostitute
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.