Ethics
Lawyer suspended for unintentionally shooting brother during ‘horseplay’ with gun
A lawyer in Boca Raton, Florida, has been suspended for 10 days after he unintentionally shot his brother in the biceps during “horseplay.” (Image from Shutterstock)
A lawyer in Boca Raton, Florida, has been suspended for 10 days after he unintentionally shot his brother in the biceps during “horseplay.”
Florida lawyer Albert V. Medina’s suspension is effective Feb. 10, according to Florida Bar News, the Palm Beach Post and the Legal Profession Blog.
Medina’s conditional guilty plea for consent judgment in the ethics case, filed with the Florida Supreme Court in December, had details on the allegations.
In October 2022, Medina retrieved a gun from another room while engaged in “horseplay” with his brother, the document said. Medina pulled the trigger, thinking that the gun was unloaded. Medina’s brother was shot in his biceps. Medina and his brother said the injury was unintentional.
An arrest report obtained by BocaNewsNow said Medina had called police “frantically requesting an ambulance” and repeatedly saying he didn’t know that there was a bullet in the gun. Medina’s brother provided a sworn statement to police saying Medina got the gun as a joke, pointed it and pulled the trigger. The brother said Medina had pointed an unloaded gun at him 10 times in the past.
Medina told police that he and his brother “mess around” all the time with the gun and point it at each other as a joke. He did not realize that the gun was loaded and applied a belt as a tourniquet to his brother’s arm after the shooting.
Medina’s brother later changed his mind and said he wanted a prosecution, then changed his mind again and said he did not. The brother signed an affidavit affirming that the incident was unintentional. The criminal case was resolved in December 2023, with Medina’s plea and adjudication of guilt to the misdemeanor offense of culpable negligence causing injury to another.
Medina has been a member of the bar since 2014 and has no prior discipline. Following the accidental shooting, Medina underwent outpatient trauma therapy.
Florida lawyer David Bill Rothman represented Medina in the ethics case. He did not immediately reply to an ABA Journal email seeking comment.
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