Criminal Justice

Lawyer admitted to practice after meth conviction is now accused of shooting deputy

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A Louisiana lawyer accused of shooting a sheriff’s deputy Saturday in a possible road rage incident had been admitted to practice following a 1989 felony conviction.

The lawyer, 59-year-old Koby D. Boyett, was arrested on a charge of attempted second-degree murder, report KATC and the Lafayette Daily Advertiser. The deputy was shot while off duty. He was released from the hospital on Sunday.

KATC identified Boyett as a lawyer and reported that he was convicted in 1989 for aiding and abetting the manufacture of methamphetamine. His sentence was reduced to 40 months in prison for providing substantial assistance to investigators and he completed supervised release in 1997, according to KATC.

Boyett graduated from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law in 2000. He was admitted to the bar in 2006 despite opposition by the Committee on Bar Admissions.

The Louisiana Supreme Court had denied admission in 2001, but the court admitted Boyett to the bar in 2006 after a court-appointed commissioner concluded that Boyett has demonstrated sufficient evidence of rehabilitation.

One of three dissenting judges said the court “makes an enormous mistake in admitting this applicant to the practice of law.”

Boyett didn’t immediately respond to the ABA Journal’s emailed request for comment.

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