Jury trial delayed when defense lawyer fails to show

Judge -- Check. Prosecuting attorney -- Check. Criminal defendant -- Check.

Defense attorney -- missing in action.

The jury trial of Billy L. Schaefer, facing a felony methamphetamine charge, was postponed Tuesday morning when Schaefer's attorney Lisa Dawn Coatney failed to show up for the proceedings in Scott County Court.

Coatney, who faces her own legal problems, failed to contact the state or the court prior to the scheduled trial, according to Stoddard County Prosecuting Attorney Russ Oliver. The pool of 55 potential jurors summoned were sent home and the case continued, Oliver said.

"It's one of most frustrating things I've ever been involved in," he said. "We had two detectives and one road officer who spent half a day over there. A witness came in from Poplar Bluff."

Oliver estimates Coatney's absence could cost taxpayers thousands of dollars in juror mileage -- not to mention the price of time, energy and the pursuit of justice in what was anticipated to be a one-day trial.

"All the time and effort we spent on jury selection is lost," Oliver said. "We'll have to have a whole new pool coming in next time to have jury selection."

Coatney, whose Sikeston, Mo., law office's voice mail was full and who could not be reached for comment at an alternate number, missed a pretrial conference scheduled for June 6, Oliver said.

"I spoke with her on the sixth, but since then no one has been able to get a hold of her," he said, adding that Coatney's client said he hadn't been able to reach his attorney, either.

Despite a court order for all pretrial motions to be filed before June 6, Coatney failed to file a single pretrial motion, Oliver said.

Scott County Associate Circuit Court Judge W.H. Winchester III, presiding over the change-of-venue case earlier moved from Stoddard County, declined to comment, according to a Scott County court official. Oliver said the judge is considering the first part of July for an appearance to set a new trial date. He said the defendant, who faces a maximum of 15 years in prison as a prior and persistent offender, has indicated he wants a new defense attorney.

Coatney could face sanctions from the court, including a contempt of court charge and possibly a warrant for her arrest, according to legal experts.

The attorney was charged in early 2010 with multiple violations related to her profession, including accusations of making false or reckless statements of fact concerning the integrity of two judges, allegations of making two false statements of "fact to two tribunals with the intent to disrupt court proceedings," and making statements of intimidation.

In one case, Coatney is accused of seeking and receiving waivers to her Missouri Bar annual enrollment fee, claiming a seriously debilitating illness that left her incapacitated, making "sitting or standing for more than ten minutes extremely painful," and "typing impossible."

"[T]he reason that I am forced to ask for a waiver is because I cannot work and am forced to receive welfare and food stamps while I await my disability hearing. I hope to return to work within the next 5 years." "Please consider me for your waiver. I do not have the money to pay the dues," Coatney wrote in a letter to the Missouri Supreme Court.

It was later discovered, according to a briefing filed with the court, that the attorney had "entered an appearance and/or made a legal filing on behalf of many clients on approximately 117 occasions in 46 cases between February 26, 2009 and January 29, 2010 in a wide variety of litigation cases ... in the circuit and associate circuit courts of Southeast Missouri."

The false and reckless statements allegations pertain to Coatney's alleged comments on a website forum regarding the integrity of Associate Circuit Judge Joe Satterfield of Stoddard County.

On Nov. 14, 2009, Coatney is said to have posted:

"I have proof that satterfield knew a girl had a valid prescription for hydrocodone and when she refused to testify for the prosecution he tripled her cash bond and signed the warrant for possession of hydrocodone ... i have had three cases in which i proved my guys didn't do what was accused and he wouldn't drop charges until day of the trial, that is false imprisonment and there is going to be a multimillion-dollar class action suit filed within the next couple months, tell me your stories, you may have a claim."

Coatney's defense attorney in the disciplinary case, John J. Allan, violated rules of professional conduct by failing to act with reasonable diligence and communication, according to the Missouri Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel. Allan's probation was terminated on March 18, and he is now in good standing, according to a counsel official.

Allan has sought several extensions in Coatney's case before the Missouri Supreme Court. He was given until today to file the proper documents with the court. Beth S. Riggert, spokeswoman for the court, said Allan's filing was not in compliance.

"He doesn't have a table of contents and pages are missing, so the court not going to file it," she said.