Colorado animal rights lawyer disbarred following criminal conviction
A Colorado Supreme Court hearing board has stripped Jennifer Reba Edwards of her law license after the prominent animal rights lawyer was convicted in 2021 of stalking, retaliating against a witness, solicitation to commit murder and other criminal counts.
Edwards, also known as Jennifer Emmi, is currently serving a 10 year prison sentence. The disbarment was effective June 19 of this year.
She was originally charged with trying to hire someone to kill her ex-husband's girlfriend.
"I never wanted to kill anyone, I'm not capable of such a thing," a tearful Emmi said. "I did horrible things that were completely out of character, and I'm so embarrassed about them."
In the order, administrators say Emmi was transferred earlier this year from a Colorado prison to the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Virginia.
"(Emmi) seriously harmed her children emotionally by committing criminal acts in their presence," the hearing board wrote. The board members said her criminal acts "harmed the legal system." The board said Emmi "has been unwilling or unable to acknowledge that her misconduct was wrong or that people, including her own children, were harmed by her misconduct, even while she serves a prison sentence for crimes to which she has pleaded guilty. Instead, she has steadfastly maintained that she is the victim."
Emmi asked to be suspended instead of being disbarred, saying a suspension would give her "the opportunity for rehabilitation to try to rebuild her life and once again be a benefit to clients and the community."
The board rejected that request, writing that "Disbarment is the most and only appropriate sanction, which we impose."
M. Colin Bresee and Malcolm Seawell, who represented Emmi during her criminal proceedings, told CBS News Colorado, "Jennifer built an entirely new division of the law, Animal Rights, while fighting equity barriers. She created the blueprint that is now taught in law schools worldwide. For all she did for our two and four-legged family members, and all she endured, Jennifer did not deserve to be disbarred."
