photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez reads a passage from the US Constitution on Sept. 13, 2023, in Douglas County District Court.

The attorney for Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez has requested a continuance for her disciplinary hearing scheduled for next week, citing a “personal tragedy.”

The hearing is scheduled for Oct. 12 and 13, when a panel of three attorneys with the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys will hear testimony from multiple Douglas County judges and other witnesses regarding allegations that Valdez committed multiple acts of attorney misconduct, as the Journal-World has reported.

Valdez’s attorney, Stephen Angermayer, filed for a continuance on Wednesday, citing a personal tragedy. He does not specify the nature of the tragedy.

“Respondent’s Counsel has encountered a personal tragedy which will require Counsel to attend to the personal matter leading up to and during the course of the hearing,” Angermayer wrote in the motion to continue.

Angermayer says in the filing that Valdez does not object to continuing the proceedings.

The hearing panel has not issued an order regarding the request, and Special Prosecutor Kimberly Bonifas had not responded to the motion as of Thursday afternoon.