photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Douglas County Deputy District Attorney Joshua Seiden is pictured in Douglas County District Court on July 24, 2023.

A former deputy district attorney who is facing a state ethics complaint related to allegations of professional misconduct is now under consideration by the Lawrence City Commission to serve on the board that reviews police conduct complaints.

Attorney Joshua Seiden is one of several potential appointees that the City Commission is set to consider for the Community Police Review Board (CPRB) at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday, according to the city’s agenda packet.

Seiden abruptly left the employment of the Douglas County District Attorney’s office in June after footage emerged from a video security camera in the county’s Judicial and Law Enforcement Center showing Seiden dressed up as a local controversial public figure.

The Journal-World has reached out to Mayor Bart Littlejohn to learn more about Seiden’s nomination to the board and whether the city has any concerns with how Seiden left his position at the DA’s office, and the allegations that he violated Kansas attorney conduct standards. Littlejohn had not responded to the Journal-World’s questions as of early Friday evening.

The June security camera video shows Seiden dressed as a local man, Justin Spiehs. The video shows Seiden walking around the lobby of the Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center in a way that appeared to mock Spiehs, who has become controversial due to the nature of his comments at public meetings. District Attorney Suzanne Valdez in the video of the incident appears to point and laugh, as the Journal-World reported.

On Monday, Valdez denied that she was a party to Seiden’s conduct, and indicated that Seiden’s conduct played a role in his no longer being employed in the District Attorney’s office.

“The unprofessional incident involving Mr. Seiden’s mockery of Justin Spiehs lasted mere seconds. My response was that of surprise and shock. I dealt with this incident swiftly once I had time to do so that day. Mr. Seiden’s misconduct was not ratified by me, and that is why he is no longer with my office,” Valdez told the Journal-World via email on Monday.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

Deputy DA Joshua Seiden dressed as a public commenter in the lobby of Lawrence’s courthouse.

Spiehs has since filed an ethics complaint against both Seiden and Valdez with the Kansas Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, which oversees ethics and misconduct violations for Kansas attorneys. Spiehs alleges in his complaint that Seiden and Valdez violated multiple parts of the Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct (KRPC) set for attorneys by the Kansas Supreme Court.

Part of the complaint centers on the fact that Spiehs has previously been prosecuted by the District Attorney’s office, which could bring into play certain professional conduct standards that Seiden and Valdez must follow when dealing with past defendants.

Spiehs was prosecuted by the DA’s office in 2021 for aggravated assault in connection with an arrest at a children’s vaccine clinic and in 2022 for disorderly conduct at a county commission meeting. As part of a plea agreement, Spiehs’ felony assault charges were reduced to one misdemeanor count each of child endangerment and endangerment and the disorderly conduct charge was dismissed, as the Journal-World reported.

The Community Police Review Board has been on hiatus since May 2023 after the board suspended its regular meetings until the the city’s Community Police Oversight Work Group reviewed the CPRB’s ability to review complaints lodged against Lawrence police officers. The commission approved the work group’s recommendations in May 2024 and the changes are set to go into effect in September, though the commission has not yet determined when the CPRB will resume meeting.

Other nominees to the board include Caleb Stephens, Patricia Dahl, Michael Machell and Kristin Fisher.