Assaulting His Mother Cost This Attorney the Ability to Practice for 1 Year
Connecticut attorney David J. Alexander. Photo: Enfield Police Department
An Enfield attorney and former state representative has been suspended from practicing law in Connecticut for one year after he was charged with assaulting his mother at the family home in March.
Solo practitioner David J. Alexander, who has since moved to Arizona, had been charged with assaulting his father in a separate altercation in 2016. In the latest incident, Enfield police arrested him on charges of second-degree assault on an elderly victim, a felony, and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, in connection with an alleged drunken encounter with his mother.
Hartford Superior Court Judge David Sheridan suspended Alexander from practicing law for one year in the state, effective immediately. The Nov. 15 order stated that Alexander could apply for reinstatement after completing his suspension.
But Alexander's attorney, Jonathan Sills of Tomeo Sills in Hartford, said his client is now living in Arizona and has no plans of returning to practice in Connecticut. Sills said the 37-year-old Alexander is attending graduate school in Arizona, studying public administration.
"It's an unfortunate situation," Sills said. "I knew David since law school. He served his country in the military and as a state representative. He has had issues, like we all do. He has a strong support system and he'll do OK and come out of this a better person because of it."
Alexander, who lives in Tempe, has an unlisted telephone number and could not be reached. Brian Staines, chief disciplinary counsel, told the Connecticut Law Tribune Wednesday that Alexander was an Enfield attorney but that he didn't have an active practice.
According to the March police report, Alexander's mother, whose name was redacted, suffered two broken wrists and needed three staples to her head. The woman told police her son did not assault her, and claims she slipped backward. That contradicts what Alexander told authorities. The attorney admitted hitting his mother in the head with a mug.
The night started, according to the police report, with Alexander coming home in the dark with a case of beer to the house he shared with his parents. Alexander's father, the police report said, told his son he shouldn't be drinking, after which Alexander threw the case of beer at him. The case did not strike his father and Alexander then went to the back room, where his father believes he had been drinking all night.
According to the police report, Alexander's father heard his wife and son arguing in that room. The father told police he heard his son say, "Arrest me," and could hear glass breaking. When the father walked into the room, the report said, he saw his wife bleeding from her head and both wrists. She stated she had fallen backward.
Alexander had been arrested three times for offenses ranging from driving under the influence to charges he assaulted his parents.
According to court documents, Alexander was sentenced for the March incident to six months in jail, execution suspended, which means he never served any time. According to a report in the Manchester Journal Inquirer, a court protective order barred Alexander from having contact with his mother.
