PMZMon, 20 Jan 2025 20:54:20 +0000 11, 2016 Local News
Jefferson Co., Mo. (KFMO) - The Missouri Supreme Court has indefinitely suspended Jefferson County Assistant Prosecutor Tom Hollingsworth's law license following an incident involving an email he described as a joke.
In June 2023, Hollingsworth, along with other attorneys, was at the Jefferson County Courthouse awaiting their turn on the docket. When an assistant public defender briefly left the room, Hollingsworth accessed their laptop and sent an email to the sheriff, jokingly writing, “You look sooooo good in khaki pants and that black shirt.”
However, the incident raised serious concerns when it was revealed that the laptop also contained access to confidential client files from the Hillsboro trial office. During oral arguments, Missouri Supreme Court Judge Brent Powell questioned Hollingsworth about the potential access to sensitive information, to which Hollingsworth replied, “No, sir,” maintaining he didn’t view any confidential files.
Despite his claim, the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel (OCDC) argued that the act compromised trust and delayed justice for 19 criminal defendants after the public defender’s office successfully moved to disqualify Hollingsworth from their cases. The removal also increased the workload for other prosecutors.
“This was a breach of trust,” Judge Powell remarked during the proceedings.
Hollingsworth argued the public defender’s office acted strategically to remove him from the cases, but the consequences of his actions have lingered. He still had cases on the docket as of this week, with other attorneys now stepping in.
Jeff Garza, an attorney representing a client in one such case, noted, “As long as the other individual made a detailed account of the case and passed on all relevant information, they sub in and out fairly seamlessly.”
Hollingsworth was reprimanded by the Jefferson County Prosecutor’s Office after the incident in 2023. He will be eligible to apply for the reinstatement of his law license in six months.
