(An Iowa Capital Dispatch report, by Clark Kauffman) The Iowa Supreme Court has reinstated the law license of a lawyer who was convicted of dealing marijuana while serving as an attorney for the City of Council Bluffs. Court records show that in 2017, Don Richard John Bauermeister was working as a full-time assistant city attorney for the City of Council Bluffs while also maintaining a small, part-time criminal defense practice in Council Bluffs.
Prosecutors later alleged that in late 2016 and early 2017, while still working as a city attorney, Bauermeister engaged in drug trafficking. Prosecutors said he paid a co-conspirator to travel from Omaha, Nebraska, to Medford, Oregon, to pick up marijuana and bring it to Omaha, where Bauermeister sold the drugs for profit.
Bauermeister’s co-conspirator allegedly made three such trips from Nebraska to Oregon and back, but during the third trip, in January 2017, the co-conspirator was stopped by a Utah state trooper for an expired motor vehicle registration. Court records indicate the trooper smelled marijuana in the vehicle and conducted a search that uncovered 12 one-pound packages of marijuana and one package of THC wax.
Police searched the co-conspirator’s phone and found text messages with Bauermeister about the drug deals, including specific directions from Bauermeister as to how to meet with the source of the drugs. When federal agents served a search warrant on Bauermeister, he self-reported his conduct to the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board. In October 2017, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to possess and distribute a controlled substance. He was later sentenced to five years of probation and fined $5,000.
The Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Iowa and the Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa then recommended the revocation of Bauermeister’s license to practice law in Iowa.
After reviewing the matter, the court concurred and issued an order revoking the license, writing that Bauermeister “was the orchestrator of the illegal drug dealing” and that his “motivation was greed. His actions showed a disrespect for the law and law enforcement that is particularly troubling given his employment as a Council Bluffs city attorney and his criminal defense private practice representing persons charged with drug crimes.”
In seeking reinstatement of his license, Bauermeister recently told the Iowa Supreme Court he has been active in the Catholic church and his community, had committed no criminal offenses since his conviction, and had maintained continuous employment over the past nine years. Over the past two years, he said, he has completed 115 hours of continuing legal education coursework.
In agreeing to reinstate Bauermeister’s license, the court noted that his criminal conduct occurred nearly 10 years ago and that he had successfully completed probation in January 2023. “Prior to this matter, Bauermeister had no prior disciplinary history,” the court stated in its order, adding that Bauermeister had submitted a character-and-fitness application with the National Conference of Bar Examiners, which determined it had no concerns related to his character and fitness to practice law.
“The court is satisfied that Bauermeister has demonstrated that he is of good moral character and worthy of readmission to the practice of law in Iowa,” the court concluded. Bauermeister said Wednesday his life has changed dramatically since 2017. “I don’t do anything illegal anymore, and I’m not the same person I was,” he said. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I have owned them. I’m an open book and I have answered questions about my illegal activities. I tell the story and I don’t hold back. I don’t hide that from people.”
Bauermeister said he has taken steps toward opening up a solo practice but is unsure as to which areas of the law on which he’ll focus.
