9NEWS reporter Amanda Gilbert lays out a story that should not exist in a sane system. A former Larimer County deputy district attorney, Daniel Quinn, pleaded guilty in 2024 to misdemeanor third-degree sexual assault for conduct dating to 1999 and was ordered to register as a sex offender. He did not lose his law license. The victim, now an attorney, and state lawmakers are pressing the Colorado Supreme Court to fix the rules that let this happen.
Per the emails the victim received from the Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel and the Court’s Legal Regulation Committee, the bar applied C.R.C.P. 242 and dismissed her petition because the misconduct was more than five years old and the conviction was a misdemeanor, not a “serious crime.” That is the loophole. The Court is now set to consider changing the rules, and OARC says it supports adding unlawful sexual behavior to the list of serious crimes with no deadline. Lawmakers, including Sen. Cathy Kipp, and prosecutors are backing the victim’s call.
The Bullet Point Brief
- The fact pattern is jaw dropping. A registered sex offender kept his Colorado law license because the case was old and labeled a misdemeanor. That is not “justice delayed,” it is “discipline denied.”
- The rule at fault. C.R.C.P. 242 treats this as time barred and not a “serious crime.” Translation: the clock ran out and the label was too light.
- The victim speaks. She thought disbarment was automatic and had to lawyer up to be heard. Courage looks like this.
- Prosecutors and lawmakers agree. CDAC’s Jessica Dotter says the bar cannot even hear a complaint. Sen. Cathy Kipp signed on to fix it. That says plenty.
- The path forward. OARC backs redefining unlawful sexual behavior as a serious crime with no deadline. The Supreme Court has a hearing this week. Clock is ticking.
My Bottom Line
Um, this is a no brainer. A profession that guards courtrooms should not hand out law licenses to registered sex offenders without at least a full, public reckoning. If the rules say the bar cannot even hear the complaint because the abuse was long ago and pled down, then the rules are wrong.
Colorado, fix this. The Supreme Court should redefine unlawful sexual behavior as a serious crime with no time bar and require automatic, open discipline proceedings when a lawyer is convicted. The bar exists to protect clients and the integrity of the system, not to protect résumés. If you have a conviction like this on your record, you should face real scrutiny before you ever stand up and say, “May it please the Court.”
Source: 9NEWS
