In re Ryder

After learning the FBI suspected his client Charles Cook of a bank robbery and that stolen bills had been found in Cook's possession, attorney Richard Ryder (defendant) learned Cook had also placed a bag of cash and a sawed-off shotgun in a separate bank box; Ryder had Cook sign a power of attorney, rented a bank box in his own name, and transferred the box's contents there, believing the FBI would eventually discover the evidence and hoping to then argue attorney-client privilege protected it from disclosure. When the FBI searched both boxes and found the stolen money and shotgun in Ryder's box, the court suspended his law license, disqualified him as Cook's attorney, and referred the matter for criminal charges.