PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The chief disciplinary counsel for the state Supreme Court is accusing lawyer Layne C. Savage of committing professional misconduct by lying to secure a Massachusetts driver's license hours after her license was suspended in Rhode Island following a drunken-driving arrest.
Chief Disciplinary Counsel David D. Curtin Thursday petitioned the Supreme Court disciplinary board to take action against Savage, whose practice includes drunken-driving defense.
Curtin's complaint outlined Savage's arrest in Barrington in March 2012 for suspected driving under the influence and refusal to take a chemical test. A District Court judge dismissed the driving-under-the-influence charge, but she was found guilty of refusal in the state Traffic Tribunal. Savage appealed that decision and the suspension of her license was stayed pending that appeal.
On Jan. 13, Savage was arrested in East Providence and again charged with driving under the influence after an accident that heavily damaged another car.
A Traffic Tribunal magistrate entered an order "immediately" suspending her license after a hearing nine days later, Curtin wrote.
That same afternoon Savage applied for a Massachusetts driver's license in Fall River. She responded "no" to questions about whether her license had been suspended or revoked in another state.
Savage turned herself in days later, after an arrest warrant charging her with a bail violation was issued at the attorney general's request. She was ordered not to operate a motor vehicle anywhere and to surrender her Massachusetts license. She enrolled in substance abuse treatment in Florida.
In May, she pleaded no contest to driving under the influence and her driver's license was suspended for seven months. She received six months' probation.
Curtin alleges Savage violated the Rules of Professional Conduct by committing a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness and engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation.
He asks that the disciplinary board hear testimony and receive evidence on the allegations.
Savage's lawyer, Gary G. Pelletier, said "there's no question" a magistrate suspended her license. But, he said, "there are many other lawyers and at least one judge who believe there's a five-day grace period" before a suspension takes effect.
"That was Layne's belief at that point," he said.