A Des Moines attorney is facing a possible suspension of her law license for repeatedly missing deadlines in her clients’ criminal case appeals.
The Iowa Attorney Disciplinary Board has accused Karmen R. Anderson of violating three of Iowa’s rules of professional conduct for attorneys by missing court-imposed deadlines, failing to expedite clients’ appeals and engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice.
The alleged violations are tied to what the Grievance Commission of the Iowa Supreme Court calls “Anderson’s heavy appellate caseload, her unwillingness to ask for assistance with that caseload, and her lack of mechanisms in place to prevent missed deadlines.”
Court records indicate Anderson missed 42 appellate deadlines, resulting in 24 default notices in more than 20 cases that she handled between December 2019 and October 2023. According to the commission, Iowa’s appellate courts ordered Anderson to withdraw as her clients’ attorney in “a number of those cases.”
In recommending that Anderson’s law license be suspended for 45 days, the commission alleges that a 2019 public reprimand “for almost identical conduct (and) her ongoing failure to address these issues” constitutes neglect.
“Ms. Anderson consistently failed to expedite litigation and consistently failed to meet deadlines, eventually culminating with the Iowa Supreme Court removing her from four cases in February 2023,” the commission states in its recommendation to the court, adding that Anderson does not dispute the number of missed deadlines and default notices.
At a hearing on the matter several months ago, Anderson pointed out that none of her clients’ appeals had been dismissed due to her conduct. The commission countered that “it cannot be ignored that her clients’ appeals were delayed, some significantly,” and that the court system had to “expend resources, including entering default notices and orders removing Ms. Anderson as counsel in several cases.”
The commission found that the personal and family health issues Anderson faced in recent years were mitigating factors. There were also aggravating factors, the commission said, citing Anderson’s apparent belief that her actions were not problematic and that because her clients were in custody at the time, the delays did not cause them any harm.
“Anderson’s attitude at the hearing was essentially that these missed deadlines and default notices are no big deal,” the commission stated in its recommendation. “In some ways, she came across as dismissive.”
Anderson also failed to cooperate during the discovery phase of the disciplinary process and was sanctioned for that failure, the commission noted.
The commission has recommended that in addition to suspending Anderson’s license for 45 days, the Iowa Supreme Court should require her to complete, before her license is reinstated, continuing education on managing a legal practice and complying with court deadlines.
The court has yet to rule on that recommendation and Anderson has appealed the commission’s recommendations. When contacted Monday, Anderson declined to comment on the matter.
In the 2019 disciplinary case, Anderson was given a public reprimand for failing to pursue clients’ appeals in a timely fashion, resulting in several default notices filed against her even while she was facing disciplinary charges for such failures. The default notices resulted in the courts imposing $1,950 in in penalties against Anderson, according to court records.