Law license reinstated for ADA who pleaded guilty to DUI
An assistant district attorney who pleaded guilty to driving under the influence has had her law license reinstated.
The Tennessee Supreme Court entered the order Nov. 7, making Monica Timmerman, an ADA with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office, immediately eligible to practice law in Tennessee.
Timmerman was temporarily suspended Sept. 27 for non-compliance with her Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program monitoring agreement. TLAP is a confidential program for lawyers, judges, bar applicants and law students who may be struggling with substance-use issues, stress or emotional-health issues.
Timmerman was arrested and charged with driving under the influence after leaving a holiday party hosted by the DA’s office on Dec. 7, 2022.
After her September suspension, Timmerman said she expected to be compliant with the program soon.
“My non-compliance with requirements set forth by the Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program were not out of casual disregard or lack of willingness,” Timmerman said at the time.
Monica Timmerman
She said she was not able to afford the required treatment at TLAP-approved facilities.
“Insurance would not pay for the treatment because of my sobriety,” Timmerman said. “I am grateful that since the board’s recent decision, I have been able to secure the appropriate funding and TLAP has worked with me to reduce the cost of treatment.”
When Timmerman’s license was suspended, Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy said if she fulfilled all requirements and the suspension order was lifted, she would be able to resume working at the office.
The Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility said Timmerman could ask the Tennessee Supreme Court to end her suspension.
She filed a petition to that end on Oct. 10, which the Supreme Court adopted after a TBPR panel recommended her suspension conclude.
In February, Timmerman pleaded guilty to the DUI charge, and two other charges were dropped. She was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days in jail, but 11 months and 27 days were suspended. She is under supervised probation for the remainder of the sentence.
Her driver’s license was also revoked for a year.
Topics
Monica Timmerman Shelby County District Attorney’s Office Tennessee Supreme CourtJulia Baker
A lifelong Memphian, Julia Baker graduated from the University of Memphis in 2021. Other publications and organizations she has written for include Chalkbeat, Memphis Flyer, Memphis Parent magazine and Memphis magazine.
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