People v. William R. Hyde. 19PDJ073. November 5, 2019. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and suspended William R. Hyde (attorney registration number 20854) for one year and one day, effective November 5, 2019.
In May 2018, Hyde intentionally set fire to the garage of a house he was renting in an attempt to commit suicide. His roommate was present in the house and pulled him out of the fire. Hyde did not intend to hurt anyone else through his actions. In September 2018, Hyde pleaded guilty to fourth-degree felony arson and was sentenced to probation with conditions.
Through this conduct, Hyde violated Colo. RPC 8.4(b) (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).
The case file is public per C.R.C.P. 251.31.