State ex rel. Okla. Bar Ass'n v. Wiehl

535 P.3d 1268

STATE of Oklahoma, EX REL. OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION, Complainant,

v.Ryan Steven WIEHL, Respondent.

SCBD 7359

Supreme Court of Oklahoma.

Filed: September 12, 2023

Loraine Dillinder Farabow, First Assistant General Counsel of the Oklahoma Bar Association, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Complainant.

Sheila J. Naifeh, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Respondent.

Shannon R. Brown, Okmulgee, Oklahoma for Respondent.

Winchester, J.

¶1 This is a summary disciplinary proceeding initiated pursuant to Rule 7 of the Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings¹ based upon Respondent Ryan Steven Wiehl's plea of no contest to two felony counts of Assault and Battery Upon a Police Officer in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 649(B), one felony count of Assault and/or, Battery on an Emergency Medical Technician or Care Provider in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 650.4, and 12 misdemeanor counts of (1) Threaten an Act of Violence in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 1378(B) ; (2) Assault on a Police Officer in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 649(A) ; (3) Assault on a Police Officer in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 649(A) ; (4) Resisting an Officer in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 268, (5) Assault on a Police Officer in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 649(A) ; (6) Obstructing an Officer in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 540 ; (7) Assault of an EMSA Personnel in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 644(A) ; (8) Threaten an Act of Violence in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 1378(B) ; (9) Threaten an Act of Violence in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 1378(B) ; (10) Assault and Battery in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 644(B) ; (11) Outraging Public Decency in violation of 21 O.S.2021, § 22 ; and (12) Public Intoxication in violation of 37A O.S.2021, § 6-101(D).

¶2 On November 4, 2022, the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA) notified the Court of Wiehl's plea of no contest. On November 14, 2022, this Court entered an Order of Immediate Interim Suspension and directed Wiehl to show cause why the Court should set aside the interim suspension. On November 28, 2022, Wiehl filed his Response to this Court's Order to Show Cause, contending that his criminal actions did not warrant an interim suspension because he took full responsibility for his actions and was fit to practice law. We denied Wiehl's request to lift the interim suspension and assigned the matter to the Professional Responsibility Tribunal (Trial Panel) to hold a hearing on the limited scope of mitigation. On March 7, 2023, the Trial Panel held a Rule 7 hearing. On April 28, 2023, the Trial Panel filed its report, recommending that this Court suspend Wiehl for one year, effective from the date of his interim suspension, and place Wiehl on conditional probation until October 13, 2025, the end of his deferred sentence in his criminal matter.² The OBA and Wiehl agreed with the Trial Panel's recommendation.

I. FACTS

¶3 On September 20, 2016, Wiehl received his license to practice law in Oklahoma. He practiced law in good standing until his interim suspension.

¶4 On May 21, 2022, Wiehl was involved in a physical altercation at Shot Happens, a bar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Wiehl began the night at another bar, Market Pub, where he consumed alcohol to excess. He has no memory of how he arrived at Shot Happens. Once there, a patron at Shot Happens observed Wiehl "superman punch" a female, jumping off the floor while he punched the woman. Multiple patrons had to wrestle Wiehl to the ground to restrain him. Wiehl hit and punched one patron, an off-duty EMSA employee, as the patron attempted to subdue him. About 15 minutes later, Wiehl appeared calm, and the patron stopped restraining him. Wiehl stood up, grabbed an industrial-sized bar chair, and threw it at a crowd of people. Several patrons then removed Wiehl from the bar and sat him on a bench outside. A patron called 911 to report the incident. Wiehl then stood up from the bench and hit a woman on the back of her head. The off-duty EMSA employee again took Wiehl to the ground to restrain him, while Wiehl repeatedly hit him. Wiehl also continually stated that he had a knife. Another patron sat on top of Wiehl to restrain him until the police arrived.

¶5 At around 1:00 a.m., several Tulsa police officers arrived at the scene. As the officers attempted to restrain and handcuff him, Wiehl hit, bit, head-butted, and spit on the officers and repeatedly threatened to kill them. The officers found Wiehl's OBA membership card inside his wallet, and Wiehl confirmed he was an attorney. They did not find a knife on Wiehl's person. EMSA also responded to the scene. Wiehl made derogatory and abusive statements to the officers and EMSA personnel and about the Tulsa District Attorney.

¶6 Patrons at Shot Happens suspected that Wiehl had used PCP or some other similar substance due to Wiehl's behavior. Multiple patrons at Shot Happens reported that Wiehl tried to convince them to take PCP with him. Due to the suspected drug use, EMSA transported Wiehl to St. Francis Hospital.

¶7 Upon arrival at the hospital at 2:30 a.m., five police officers and hospital staff had to aid in transferring Wiehl to the hospital bed because of his combativeness. The officers and two hospital security guards placed Wiehl in physical restraints and then had to hold his head, shoulders, arms, hands, legs, and feet in place to allow the hospital staff to safely treat him. They also secured a spit hood around Wiehl's head.

¶8 The hospital staff gave Wiehl a dose of sedatives. However, Wiehl continued to be verbally abusive and combative, attempting to headbutt, bite, and push off the officers and security guards restraining him. Wiehl then bit through the material of his spit hood and spit bloody phlegm into the mouth of one of the hospital security guards. Wiehl threatened the security guard by stating that he was going to rip his skull out of his head and shove it down his throat. Wiehl also made racially derogatory statements to the security guard. As a result of this interaction, the security guard had to be tested for communicable diseases. The test results were negative.

¶9 The hospital staff gave Wiehl a second dose of sedatives. He continued to be combative, and the staff had to restrain him. Wiehl also threatened to sue the hospital staff and officers. The hospital staff gave Wiehl a third dose of sedatives and held him for observation. At approximately 7:00 a.m., the hospital discharged Wiehl into police custody, and the police officers transported Wiehl to the Tulsa County jail.

¶10 Wiehl had taken several medications before going to the bar that night. Wiehl had a prescription for Lexapro for depression, Wellbutrin for depression, Xanax for anxiety, and Vyvanse for ADHD. He also had a license to take medical marijuana for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He had taken all of his prescribed medications except Lexapro and had smoked marijuana. The hospital staff collected a urine sample from Wiehl at some point prior to his discharge. The test showed that Wiehl's blood alcohol level was 0.26. He also tested positive for marijuana. The urine test did not test for PCP.

¶11 On May 26, 2022, the Tulsa County District Attorney charged Wiehl with 15 criminal counts—three felonies and 12 misdemeanors. Local media, social media, and a national legal blog reported on Wiehl's conduct that led to his arrest and criminal charges.

¶12 On October 18, 2022, Wiehl entered a plea of no contest to all 15 criminal counts, and the district court placed him on an unsupervised deferred sentence for three years, until October 13, 2025. If he does not violate the conditions of his deferred sentence, Wiehl will be discharged without a court judgment of guilt, his plea expunged, and the charges dismissed. The district court also assessed fines and costs, which the court reduced by fifty percent.

II. MITIGATION

¶13 The OBA opened a formal investigation into Wiehl's arrest and criminal charges. Wiehl responded to the OBA's grievance by stating that he believed someone drugged him with PCP. He further stated he sustained a severe concussion that added to the possibility that he was confused, incoherent, and hypervigilant when confronted by the police officers and EMSA personnel. During an interview with the OBA, Wiehl stated that he had run out of his prescription for Lexapro on the day of the incident. Wiehl took advantage of the opportunity to drink, as he normally cannot mix alcohol with Lexapro. He did not recall most of what happened the night of the incident, especially what happened at Shot Happens. Wiehl only recalled drinking beer and shots of alcohol at the Market Pub. Wiehl believed an unknown person at the Market Pub had drugged him with PCP. He claimed he would never voluntarily take PCP. Wiehl cooperated during the OBA's investigation, including taking two random drug tests. He took drug tests on August 16, 2022, and February 24, 2023; both were negative except for marijuana.

¶14 After his arrest, Wiehl sought assistance from Lawyers Helping Lawyers (LHL). Wiehl attended the free therapy sessions offered by LHL and obtained a sponsor, Glenn Blake. Wiehl started and continues to have weekly telephone meetings with Blake. Wiehl admitted to Blake that he was a binge drinker but had not consumed alcohol since the night of the incident. Blake believes Wiehl has accepted responsibility for his actions during the night of the incident and is remorseful.

¶15 Wiehl also began attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings and sought psychotherapy from Dr. Jason Franks.

¶16 Wiehl was previously diagnosed with PTSD and other mental health disorders. Wiehl was an active volunteer with the American Red Cross during college. During his senior year at college, he volunteered in West Virginia after the state suffered significant losses from tornadoes. Wiehl experienced more depression and anxiety after he returned from his volunteer trip. He finished his senior year, graduated, and moved back to his parent's home in New York. Wiehl then sought therapy for his heightened...