People v. Stephen M. Johnson. 18PDJ001. January 8, 2018. The Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved the parties’ conditional admission of misconduct and publicly censured Stephen M. Johnson (attorney registration number 14145), effective February 12, 2018.
In January 2017, Johnson was arrested in Centennial, Colorado. He was initially pulled over for failing to proceed on a green light and for having a defective license plate lamp. After consenting to and failing roadside tests, he was charged with driving under the influence. His blood alcohol content was measured at 0.140.
Johnson pleaded guilty in April 2017 to one count of driving while ability impaired, with one prior alcohol-related driving offense. He was sentenced to ten days of in-home detention and was placed on twenty-four months of probation with the conditions of abstinence, a substance abuse evaluation, Level II education and therapy, and forty-eight hours of useful public service. He self-reported the conviction to disciplinary authorities. Johnson’s prior alcohol-related offense occurred in 1988.
Johnson’s conduct violated Colo. RPC 8.4(b) (a lawyer shall not commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects).