DES MOINES – A former Floyd county prosecutor’s law license has been suspended by the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board.
The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board (the Board) brought a complaint against attorney Jesse Marzen, a former Floyd county prosecutor, arising out of his representation of a couple involving two different matters. The first matter involved his work in preparing income tax returns for the couple’s business, and the second matter involved his transfer of an estate matter to another attorney without the client’s prior consent. The Iowa Supreme Court Grievance Commission (the commission) found the Board proved Marzen violated most, but not all, of the cited rules.
The commission recommends we publicly reprimand Marzen, a discipline Marzen supports. The Board urges us to suspend his license for some period of time. On our de novo review, we conclude Marzen violated our ethical rules. We agree with the Board that his conduct justifies more than a public reprimand. Therefore, we suspend Marzen’s license for thirty days.
Attorney Jesse Marzen was admitted to practice law in Iowa in 2005. He was previously disciplined in 2010 after he had a sexual relationship with a client and disclosed confidential information about the client during his campaign for county attorney, which resulted in a six-month suspension of his license. Marzen resumed practice in March of 2012. Currently, Marzen is not practicing law or taking on clients, but his license is still active.