Advocate Discipline

Colorado, United States

Jenna Lynn Ellis: disciplinary decision

Decision, 8 March 2023On 8 March 2023 Presiding Disciplinary Judge Bryon M. Large, in case 23PDJ004, approved a stipulation and ordered Ellis "PUBLICLY CENSURED, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY." On 28 May 2024, in case 24PDJ002, the Presiding Disciplinary Judge approved a further stipulation and ordered that she "is SUSPENDED from the practice of law in Colorado" for three years, effective 2 July 2024.1,2,3

Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge, Supreme Court of Colorado

What the decision found

CBS News Colorado reported that in the 2023 stipulation Ellis agreed that she violated Colorado Rule of Professional Conduct 8.4(c) through false public statements about the 2020 election made as counsel to Donald Trump and his campaign. The Colorado Lawyer summary of the 2024 opinion says the suspension followed her 24 October 2023 guilty plea in Fulton County Superior Court, Georgia, to a felony of aiding and abetting false statements and writings, for which she received five years of probation. It says the charges applied Georgia rules including 3.3(a), 3.9 and 8.4(a)(4).3,4,5

Response

Ellis agreed to both outcomes by stipulation, according to the orders. CBS News Colorado reported that efforts to reach Ellis and her attorney for comment on the 2023 censure were unsuccessful.1,2,3

Appeal and later events

The 2024 suspension was imposed by stipulation. According to the Colorado Lawyer summary, to be reinstated she must prove by clear and convincing evidence that she has been rehabilitated and is fit to practise.5

Status now

Suspended in Colorado for three years from 2 July 2024 under the order of 28 May 2024. Reinstatement requires a separate proceeding.2,5

This site covers only lawyers whose cases were widely reported and decided in published rulings. Each record states the decision exactly as the body made it, and any appeal or later change.

Sources

  1. Colorado Presiding Disciplinary Judge (copy hosted by States United), People v. Ellis, 23PDJ004, Order and Notice of Public Censure (8 March 2023)
  2. Colorado Supreme Court Office of Attorney Regulation, People v. Ellis, 24PDJ002, Order Approving Stipulation to Discipline (28 May 2024)
  3. CBS News Colorado, Colorado attorney and Trump legal adviser Jenna Ellis censured (8 March 2023)
  4. The Colorado Sun, Jenna Ellis censured in Colorado (8 March 2023)
  5. Colorado Lawyer, Colorado Bar Association, People v. Ellis (case summary) (2024)