How Jackie Ferrari Lost Her Lawyer License: A Story of Breaking the Law and Selling Drugs
Jackie Ferrari was a lawyer in Long Beach who had a good future in law until she got caught selling oxycodone pills on Craigslist to a secret agent. She said she was sorry for one crime of giving out the strong painkiller without permission and got six months in jail. She also got in trouble with the State Bar of California, which took away her lawyer license. This essay will look at what happened in her case, why it was wrong, and what it meant for her and the law profession.
According to papers from the court¹, Ferrari started putting ads for different drugs for sale on Craigslist in 2018, using hidden words to cover up the drugs. She sold oxycodone, fentanyl, heroin, ecstasy, and Adderall, as well as things that make powder cocaine into crack. She also made new customers take an oxycodone pill in front of her to check they were not cops. She said that this would let them know that the pills were real and that she could be sure they were not “5-0”.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation about Ferrari began after a 22-year-old woman died in August 2018 from taking too much fentanyl by mistake. The DEA first thought that messages on the woman’s phone showed that she might have bought the drugs from a drug seller linked to Ferrari. While federal agents could not connect Ferrari to the woman’s death, they started an investigation based on proof that she was a big seller of opiates on Craigslist, along with information from the Costa Mesa and Cypress police departments that tied her to illegal drug things in late 2017.
In 2019, Ferrari sold 50 oxycodone pills for $1,200 to a law enforcement agent outside the Beverly Hills law office where she said she worked. She was arrested about a week later after agreeing to sell the agent another 180 pills for $4,100. She admitted to selling more than 1,000 oxycodone pills on Craigslist between July 2018 and January 2019. She also admitted to using her job as a lawyer to get prescriptions for oxycodone from doctors by lying that she had constant pain.
Ferrari’s actions broke several ethical rules and values that guide the law profession. According to the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct², lawyers have a duty to follow the law and not do crimes that make people doubt their honesty, trustworthiness, or ability as lawyers. They also have a duty to keep their skills and hard work in helping their clients and not hurt their professional thinking by drug use or mental problems. Also, they have a duty to respect the rights of other people and not cause harm or hurt to others by their actions.
Ferrari’s actions also broke the California Rules of Professional Conduct³, which are like the ABA Model Rules but have some changes. For example, California Rule 8.4(b) says that it is bad behavior for a lawyer to do a crime that involves moral turpitude or that makes people doubt the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or ability as a lawyer. Moral turpitude is defined as “an act of baseness, vileness, or depravity in the private and social duties which a person owes to another person or society in general”?. Drug selling is seen as an act of moral turpitude because it involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit, corruption, violence, and no care for human life.
Ferrari’s actions had bad results for herself and the law profession. She faced criminal charges and punishments, including jail time, money loss, property loss, and being watched after jail. She also faced lawsuits from her clients or other people who may have been hurt by her actions or mistakes. She also faced trouble from the State Bar of California, which has the power to control and punish lawyers who break ethical rules or laws. The State Bar can give penalties from warning to disbarment.
In Ferrari’s case, the State Bar gave the worst penalty of disbarment after she did not answer to a hearing notice because of her conviction. Disbarment means that she is not allowed to be a lawyer in California or any other place. She also has to tell all her clients and other lawyers about her disbarment and give back any money or things that her clients gave her. She also has to follow various rules and steps about keeping records, reporting, and working with the State Bar.
Disbarment is a permanent loss of one’s license and name as a lawyer. It is a hard but right punishment for Ferrari’s actions, which showed no respect for the law, the public, and the law profession. Her actions not only hurt herself and her clients, but also made people lose trust and faith in the legal system and the rule of law. Her actions also damaged the image and honesty of the law profession, which is expected to keep high standards of ethics and professionalism.
In conclusion, Jackie Ferrari was a lawyer in Long Beach who was disbarred for selling oxycodone on Craigslist. She said she was sorry for one crime of giving out the strong painkiller without permission and got six months in jail. She also did not answer to a hearing notice from the State Bar of California, which resulted in her disbarment. Her actions broke several ethical rules and values that guide the law profession and had bad results for herself and the law profession. Her case is a warning for lawyers who may be tempted to do crimes or drug use.
