Nathaniel Edmond Strasser, formerly an assistant public defender, was previously accused of having used cocaine prior to a client’s hearing. Strasser remarkably held his belief that controlled usage of cocaine could enhance performance, stating, “My mental awareness was at a heightened state, not a lower state,” owing to his consumption of the illicit substance. (For further details, you may want to read the full report).
Serving as his own defendant, his unorthodox stance remained undisputed. The Pennsylvania Office of Disciplinary Counsel has recommended that Strasser’s law license be suspended for a period of one year and one additional day.
However, Strasser appears to have revised his stance in retrospect. Having appointed Philip Friedman as counsel, Strasser seems intent on retracting his previous assertions that were in favor of cocaine usage. A brief filed on his behalf to the disciplinary board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appealed for disciplinary probation over the suggested suspension. The brief also contained a clear acknowledgment from Strasser that representing himself in the disciplinary instance was “inappropriate and deficient”.
Strasser’s current predicament also includes his struggle with addiction. It’s worth noting that the brief highlights Strasser’s ongoing treatment for addiction. He has had difficulties in acknowledging his addiction problem, which is common among professionals, as the ABA Journal reported.
As a part of his outpatient rehabilitation process, Strasser is subjected to regular urine tests. His counsel, Friedman, has proposed that Strasser should be placed on “substance abuse probation”, in accordance with the conditions that the disciplinary board may prescribe.
It’s significant that the records of Strasser’s in-patient rehabilitative treatments in 2018 and 2019 were not presented to the disciplinary board. A point of contention, as reported by the ABA Journal, is Friedman’s claim that his request to present evidence of Strasser’s history with substance abuse and treatment was denied by the hearing committee. He believes this omission complicated the case substantially.
Strasser, who was admitted to the bar in 2007, has had no prior issues of disciplinary nature up to this point. A reminder for us all that the pressures of a legal career can manifest in many challenging forms and personal struggles should not be ignored, but addressed with appropriate care and treatment.