Court Suspends Attorney For Two Years

The Washington Supreme Court has ordered Spokane attorney Ronald Kappelman to serve a two-year suspension for a 1994 drug conviction.

Kappelman was one of more than 30 people snared in the “Operation Doughboy” cocaine conspiracy bust. He voluntarily turned in his attorney’s license in 1994 and hasn’t practiced law since.

Kappelman pleaded guilty to delivery of cocaine and served two months in jail and two months at Geiger Corrections Center, followed by two months of home detention.

A Washington State Bar Association disciplinary board voted last year to give Kappelman a two-year suspension that would have ended in October 1996.

But the Supreme Court disagreed in a recent decision, ordering the suspension to officially start this month.

“I’m disappointed,” said Kappelman, 40. “But I wasn’t really looking to get right back into legal work full time.”

The high court also ordered Kappelman to pay $5,200 in attorneys’ costs. When the suspension ends, he will be on probation for two years. , DataTimes