In the Matter of Hammer

After criminal charges against attorney Hammer (defendant) involving his ex-wife were dismissed, he sued the City of Columbia pro se for false arrest and subpoenaed three witnesses — former neighbors who'd supported his ex-wife during the divorce — claiming they had information about the earlier criminal allegations, without explaining their relevance to his false-arrest suit against the city. Over a two-day deposition of one witness (Witness A), Hammer asked repeated improper questions about the witness's sexual orientation and HIV testing, and when the witness couldn't fully recall events, asked whether he had Alzheimer's; Hammer later admitted the questions were inappropriate. He entered an Agreement for Discipline by Consent with the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (plaintiff), conceding professional misconduct and consenting to sanctions ranging up to a six-month suspension, a legal ethics training requirement, and psychological counseling.