photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

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

An attorney who abruptly left his job with the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office last month has now registered a private practice in Lawrence as a defense attorney, according to the Kansas Supreme Court’s attorney directory.

The directory this week updated its entry for Joshua Seiden, formerly the county’s deputy district attorney. He is now listed as working at Seiden Law LLC, and his LinkedIn page now says that he practices “Criminal defense across all courts in Kansas and Missouri, specializing in sex crimes, homicide, and technology-based offenses.” The LinkedIn page also says he is “Available as a special prosecutor in Kansas.”

As the Journal-World previously reported, the District Attorney’s Office confirmed Seiden’s departure on Monday, June 24, but declined to say what his reason was for leaving the office. The Journal-World reached out to Seiden on Tuesday to ask whether he intended to practice in Douglas County and for more details on why he left the DA’s office.

“If anyone has questions, I find it hard to believe they’re contacting the Lawrence Journal World for answers. People are certainly free to ask me whatever questions they may have,” Seiden replied in a text message.

Seiden’s departure came amid ongoing turmoil in DA Suzanne Valdez’s office, as the Journal-World has reported. Multiple sources told the Journal-World that Seiden played an outsized role in the office, regularly behaving as the de facto district attorney.

Seiden and Valdez are currently under investigation by the Office of the Disciplinary Administrator, which oversees discipline for attorneys in Kansas, for allegations that they violated the rights of a juvenile victim of a sex crime. And on June 21, the week before Seiden’s departure from the DA’s office was confirmed, he was photographed and recorded in a costume imitating Justin Spiehs, a frequent commenter at local government meetings who was once prosecuted by the DA’s office. The recording also showed Valdez laughing while watching the scene.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

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

photo by: Lawrence City Commission screenshot

Justin Spiehs speaks during public comment Tuesday, April 2, 2024, at the Lawrence City Commission meeting.

The Journal-World asked Seiden on Tuesday whether his departure had anything to do with disciplinary matters; Seiden declined to elaborate on the topic.

In addition to leaving the DA’s office, Seiden is also no longer serving as the treasurer for Valdez’s 2024 reelection campaign. Valdez, who will face two opponents in the Democratic primary in August, told the Journal-World in an email Tuesday that her new treasurer is Amory Lovin.