10:30 09.12.2008 | All news from "Arkansas"
Stilley Uses 5th Amendment in Disbarment Trial
The disbarment proceeding against Stilley, who became well-known for his anti-tax ballot items, opened with the attorney invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination. Stilley invoked the Fifth Amendment at least six times during questioning and as he objected to evidence a disciplinary panel proposed to present against him.
At one point, Stilley refused to say whether he was married when asked by Stark Ligon, director of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct.
"You're telling the court under oath that your marital status could be a part of the criminal investigation?" Judge John Lineberger, who's presiding over the four-day hearing, asked Stilley.
"Your honor, I would submit that it is," Stilley replied.
Stilley, who is married and has four children, later referred during the hearing to the laptop he was using as his wife's computer.
Stilley told reporters during a break in Monday's hearing that he doesn't know what he's under investigation for, but said that clients of his have been contacted by the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Oklahoma. A spokesman for the district did not immediately return a call Monday afternoon.
"My clients and friends and acquaintances all over are getting calls from the Department of Justice, which I find highly unfair," Stilley said. "If I have done something wrong, surely someone can say 'we're investigating you.'"
Lineberger allowed Stilley to invoke the right on the question of his marital status but overruled him when Stilley tried to refuse to answer questions on other matters.
The hearing has its origins in a tax case involving the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the Fort Smith School District. Stilley served seven weeks in jail for contempt in connection with the case.
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