TALLAHASSEE — Pembroke Pines attorney Marcy Elizabeth Abitz was recently suspended following the attorney’s no-contest plea to several charges and later disbarred for unrelated misconduct.
The order was given by the Florida Supreme Court after she was charged with one misdemeanor count and four felony counts of possession of illegal substances and drug paraphernalia in a criminal court.
As stated in the notice of judgement of guilt released by the courts, Abitz pleaded no contest Nov. 30 to “one count of possession of methamphetamine, one count of possession of oxycodone, one count of possession of oxymorphone, one count of possession of cocaine,” as well as one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. The substance charges are third-degree felonies, whereas the paraphernalia charge is a first-degree misdemeanor.
The Broward County 17th Judicial Court sentenced her to six months of probation for each of the five counts. However, the sentencing was to run concurrently. Because the attorney’s plea was viewed as a determination of guilt and her conduct violated the Rules Regulating the Florida Bar Rule 3-4.3 for misconduct, further discipline was warranted. Abitz was suspended immediately following the March 3 order for an indefinite period of time. She would have needed to present all current clients and opposing counsel of the order and would have been barred from accepting new clients. She is responsible for the court costs in both the criminal and administrative courts.
She was previously suspended April 5, 2016, and Sept. 16, 2016 for failing to respond to Florida Bar inquiries into grievances made against her.
Abitz was disbarred from practice following an emergency suspension petition May 25 for misconduct unrelated to the criminal issue. The court documents state that Abitz mistakenly received $8,961.35 to her client trust account which she proceeded to misappropriate rather than immediately returning the funds.
The Broward County attorney, a graduate of the University of Miami School of Law, was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2002.