3 California lawyers disbarred, including 1 who was busted for child pornography

Three attorneys have been disbarred from the State Bar of California, including one who was convicted of possessing child pornography and another who was convicted of distributing illegal narcotics.

The Bar announced the punishment levied against three California lawyers on Monday.

The most high-profile incident involves Raymond Joseph Liddy of Coronado, a former Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice.

Liddy was convicted on Feb. 5, 2020, for possessing child pornography. He was arrested in July 2017 and was found to have “sexually explicit images of prepubescent minors” on his personal devices. He was sentenced to five years of probation following his conviction.

Notably, Liddy is also the son of former FBI agent and key Watergate figure G. Gordon Liddy, who was arrested as part of the most infamous American political scandal of all time.

Raymond Liddy was officially disbarred on Oct. 15.

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Two other California attorneys were disbarred in recent weeks, including former Long Beach lawyer Jackie P. Ferrari.

Ferrari was convicted on felony drug charges related to the distribution of oxycodone. She was convicted in June 2019 after pleading guilty to one count of distribution. Ferrari was the subject of an investigation following the overdose death of an unnamed 22-year-old woman. That woman was in contact with Ferrari, according to the California Bar, and had arranged a sale of drugs before she died.

“Though the victim likely received the drug from someone other than Ferrari, the DEA discovered that Ferrari had been selling oxycodone pills on Craigslist, using coded names such as ‘foxy roxy doll,'” the release from the Bar states.

Ferrari did not file a timely response to her possible disbarment, and it officially went into effect at the end of September.

And Redding attorney Michael Ralph McCabe was disbarred for unauthorized practice of law and other counts related to misrepresentation.

McCabe represented a couple in a civil case that involved a dispute with their landlord. He failed to serve the defendants with a complaint, didn’t file proper paperwork related to the case and missed two separate court appearances, which resulted in the case being dismissed. He also allegedly failed to comply with court orders to keep his clients updated and informed with the status of his case.

He also apparently practiced law for a period in 2018 during a time in which he was on administrative inactive status. He made four separate court appearances and filed multiple court documents while technically ineligible to practice, the Bar said. McCabe did not cooperate with the Bar’s investigation, the release states.

The State Bar of California’s Office of Chief Trial Counsel investigates allegations of misconduct by Bar-certified attorney on behalf of the public. Attorneys are presumed innocent of the allegations “unless the State Bar Court finds [them] culpable by clear and convincing evidence.”

The Bar can recommend if an attorney is simply suspended or disbarred.

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