Man's former defense lawyer became his prosecutor

NORFOLK

In 2000, Dirk Williams pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and received probation.

Almost 10 years later, Williams was charged with shooting another man and violating probation.

One lawyer, Lyn M. Simmons, played a lead role in both cases - first as Williams' defender, finally as his prosecutor.

An appeals lawyer for Williams says in court papers that Simmons' actions were wrong - legally and ethically - and the conflict should have been acknowledged before the start of his recent trial.

Attorney Andrew Wiggin has asked a court to throw out several convictions and sentences. Simmons, in court papers, said she forgot Williams had been a client.

On Wednesday, a Circuit Court judge ruled the court did not have jurisdiction over the issue because it was raised too late.

The issue still remains viable on appeal to the Court of Appeals, which has been asked to hear the case. If the court agrees there is a conflict, the oversight could knock years off Williams' sentence.

Quoting an appeals case, Wiggin said that switching of sides "is fundamentally unfair and inherently prejudicial."

Amanda Howie, spokeswoman for the Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's office, said conflicts can arise from the high volume of cases and the career switches by lawyers. "There was nothing intentional about this," she said.

Court records show Williams, 31, has a history of violent crime and cocaine dealing.

In February 2000, a grand jury indicted Williams on charges of possessing cocaine. A court appointed Simmons, then in private practice, to represent Williams. Williams pleaded guilty and received a three-year sentence, with all except three months suspended. He was placed on probation.

Court records show Simmons was present at the plea hearing, and that she submitted bills for $155 and $305 for her work.

After his release from prison, Williams was arrested several times on traffic violations. In May 2006, a Norfolk judge issued a capias for his arrest. But Williams remained at large for several years.

Norfolk police found Williams in April 2009 when he got into a fight with a police officer. Williams gave a false name to police, but fingerprints revealed his identity, according to court records.

Williams was charged with several felonies: assaulting a police officer, forgery and weapons possession. Prosecutors also charged Williams with malicious wounding and illegal use of a firearm in a shooting that wounded a man in 2006, according to records.

Simmons, now a senior assistant commonwealth's attorney, was lead prosecutor in the shooting case and the probation violation for his 2000 cocaine possession.

Wiggin contends that cases she dealt with directly as well as charges handled by her office were tainted. Williams was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the recent convictions and the probation violations.

Wiggin said in an interview that the 2009 trial was tainted because Simmons could have introduced evidence gathered from their previous, confidential relationship. In court papers, Wiggin said the conflict violated Williams' right to due process and a fair trial.

Further, he wrote, it was easy to discover that Simmons had been Williams' lawyer by reviewing the public case file in the clerk's office. He said Williams told his lawyer at the time that Simmons had represented him, but his lawyer did not raise the issue in court.

Simmons wrote in court papers that she "had no recollection of having represented the defendant some nine plus years ago" until Wiggin filed a motion that pointed it out in April. She added in the court motion that Williams failed to show she had any damaging privileged information or personal interest in the case that could pose a conflict of interest.

The Norfolk prosecutor's office has withdrawn from the case. Lawyers from the Virginia Attorney General's office and the Portsmouth Commonwealth's Attorney's office have been brought in to handle post-conviction motions and appeals.

Howie said the office tries to identify potential conflicts of interest as early as possible. Cases are assigned to other lawyers, or in some cases a special prosecutor from another city is brought in.

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2341, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com