State recommends discipline against DA Linda Stanley, alleges she violated 7 rules of conduct for attorneys

FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- In a public document obtained by KRDO13 Investigates, the Colorado Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel (OARC), a state body that disciplines attorneys, is recommending 11th Judicial District Attorney Linda Stanley "be appropriately disciplined for such misconduct."

The document, filed with Presiding Disciplinary Judge Byron Large, claims that DA Stanley violated seven "rules of professional conduct for attorneys" by speaking publicly about multiple open criminal cases, including that of Barry Morphew, violating mandatory evidence disclosures to defense attorneys, and attempting to investigate a sitting judge without criminal evidence backing it up.

KRDO13 Investigates confirmed that DA Stanley was under state investigation in October 2022. There have been several complaints filed against her to the OARC by defense attorneys, concerned citizens, and even law enforcement over the last year. Now, nearly a year after the investigation was opened, the OARC is taking action.

The 20-page complaint begins with allegations that DA Stanley made statements to a YouTuber named Mike King, who ran and operated the "Profiling Evil" page. Her statements to King via private text message and during an appearance on his YouTube page all center around her criminal case against Barry Morphew, the Chaffee County man previously accused of killing his wife, Suzanne Morphew.

On May 15, 2021, the OARC says Stanley replied to King via text message after he asked her for more information on the weapon Barry Morphew was accused of using to kill his wife, a request to which Stanley responded by saying, "Um, I will see what I can do. Only because it’s you, Mike."

A month later, when King texted Stanley about new evidence in the case, she replied to him stating "I’m great! Thanks!! We got him. No worries," in reference to the ongoing murder case against Morphew.

After a preliminary hearing was held to determine if there was enough evidence to go to a potential trial, King texted Stanley "Feeling good?" to which Stanley replied "Yes. Only because the judge has basically indicated that he’s done. That’s good for us."

Then, King asked Stanley if Morphew "stared her down" in court during the preliminary hearing, and Stanley replied "I stared him down. I have tried to every single day."

A few days later, on August 30, 2021, Stanley appeared on King's YouTube channel and discussed portions of the ongoing criminal case against Morphew, including responding to comments made by viewers that solidified her belief that she would be able to convict Morphew of murder, despite it being a "no body" murder case. At the time, Suzanne Morphew's remains were not found.

The OARC alleges that the case against Morphew changed venues from Chaffee County to Fremont County because of Stanley's "extrajudicial statements" made to various Youtubers before the case went to trial, a violation of an attorney rule of professional conduct that bars attorneys from making "out of court" statements about an ongoing criminal case.

The complaint then enters into allegations that Stanley, and her team of prosecutors, "was having extreme difficulty complying with Crim P. 16 mandatory disclosures in a timely manner in the Morphew case," the complaint states.

Crim P. 16 mandatory disclosures have to do with a prosecutor's obligation to hand over evidence to defense attorneys in any criminal case within 21 days of the case being charged. From there, there are other deadlines for handing over evidence before a potential trial that are not optional, but rather required by state law.

The OARC outlines the numerous evidentiary pieces tied to the Morphew case that Stanley is accused of withholding from his defense attorney, Iris Eytan. Those items include: cell phone data and other electronic discovery, DNA swabbed from Ms. Morphew’s Range Rover which partially matched an unknown suspect who was being investigated for sexual assault, and witness lists that would be on the prosecutions list to testify in the future trial against Barry Morphew.

The OARC noted that these discovery violations resulted in 15 of the 16 prosecution witnesses being excluded from testifying at a future trial against Barry Morphew. Days later, Stanley's office filed a motion to dismiss all of the charges against Morphew "without prejudice," meaning they could be re-filed in the future if new evidence came to light.

The majority of the aforementioned allegations were known to the public, but a new detail outlined the complaint centers around Stanley's alleged effort to have former Fremont County District Judge Ramsey Lama investigated for domestic violence after "adverse rulings" in the Morphew case once it was moved to Fremont County.

The complaint says that Stanley elicited the help of her investigator, Andrew Corey, to investigate Lama for abusing his ex-wife, Iris Lama. This came after Stanley allegedly asked members of the Chaffee County Sheriff's office to investigate Lama, to which they refused because there was "no good source for the investigation."

After Corey interviewed Judge Lama's ex-wife, he reported to Stanley that she stated "there was never any domestic abuse in their relationship, and that Judge Lama never said anything to her about the Morphew case."

Four days later, Stanley moved to dismiss all of the charges against Barry Morphew, the complaint states.

The OARC claims Stanley violated the following rules of professional conduct for attorneys:

• A Lawyer Shall Act with Reasonable Diligence and Promptness—Colo. RPC 1.3
• Pretrial Publicity—Colo. RPC 3.6(a)
• Prosecutor’s Extrajudicial Comments—Colo. RPC 3.8(f)
• Responsibilities of Supervisory Lawyer—Colo. RPC 5.1(a) and (b)
• Attempt to Violate the Rules of Professional Conduct and Conduct Prejudicial to the Administration of Justice—Colo. RPC 8.4(a) and Colo. RPC 8.4(d)
• Pretrial Publicity—Colo. RPC 3.6(a)
• Prosecutor’s Extrajudicial Comments—Colo. RPC 3.8(f)

The last two pre-trial publicity and extrajudicial comments allegations stem from an on-camera interview Stanley gave to KRDO13 Investigates in July 2023 about the death of a 10-month-old child in Cañon City and the subsequent murder case filed against William Jacobs.

In that interview, Stanley told KRDO13 Investigates that Jacobs was with the baby's mother, Brook Crawford, so that he could "get laid," adding that the baby was a "pain the a**" because there was no care or love for the child.

The OARC claims Stanley violated the rules because she knew that her comments would have been "disseminated by means of public communication and would have a substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing an adjudicative proceeding in the Jacobs and Crawford matters," the complaint states.

The complaint asks for DA Stanley to be disciplined for this alleged "misconduct," and be required to "take any other remedial action appropriate under the circumstances," and be assessed costs associated with the case against her.

KRDO13 Investigates learned what the next steps are for the disciplinary hearing against DA Stanley.

All documents filed in this case will now be public record, including a future "answer" document that will be filed by Stanley's attorneys representing her in this case.

There will be a hearing in front of the President Disciplinary Judge at a later date. At any point during the proceedings, the OARC and Stanley will be able to work out an "agreement," which is likened to a plea agreement in a criminal case, that would settle the matters before a potential trial.

KRDO13 Investigates reached out to District Attorney Stanley, and the attorney representing her in the disciplinary case, for comment on the complaint filed against her. At the time of publication, we have not received a response.

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