Disbarment order: Prosecutor allegedly ‘poisoned morale’ in DA’s Office with fake harassment texts
Ethics
Prosecutor ‘poisoned the morale’ of DA’s office with fake harassment texts, disbarment order says
January 10, 2025, 9:32 am CST
A former prosecutor in Colorado should be disbarred for faking four texts that she attributed to a co-worker, including one referring to her as a “sex doll,” according to a Dec. 31 hearing board opinion. (Image from Shutterstock)
A former prosecutor in Colorado should be disbarred for faking four texts that she attributed to a co-worker, including one referring to her as a “sex doll,” according to a Dec. 31 hearing board opinion.
Yujin Choi of Denver fabricated the texts in October 2022 to make it appear that the co-worker was harassing her and then “doubled down on that deceit” by intentionally altering evidence, according to the hearing board, which is part of the Colorado Supreme Court’s Office of the Presiding Disciplinary Judge.
Choi allegedly doctored cellphone records and repeatedly deleted the texts. She claimed that her cellphone stopped working when she accidentally dropped it in the bathtub and asserted that her laptop also broke when she accidentally spilled water on it.
“In our view, this narrative is not plausible,” the opinion said.
Choi “pursued a personal vendetta” against the co-worker, criminal investigator Dan Hines, “by launching an informal smear campaign” for reasons “that remain opaque to us,” the hearing board said.
The New York Times, Law360, the Denver Post and Ars Technica (via the Legal Profession Blog) have coverage.
Choi, who was admitted to practice in May 2019, can appeal the decision. She was a deputy district attorney in the Denver district attorney’s family violence unit before she was fired for the alleged misconduct.
Choi sent the four texts to herself, changing the name in her cellphone to make it appear the co-worker was the sender, the hearing board concluded. Choi had accused Hines twice. The investigation was closed because the allegations were unsubstantiated. Hines was transferred to another office and told not to contact Choi. Choi was in a bar when she showed a text to her friends. It said: “Yujin please stop talking about the things I didn’t say to our colleagues. You are using your looks to hurt innocent people. They read, “Don’t be stupid,” “Let’s talk,” and “I’m sorry, hope you have a nice weekend.” The texts read: “Don’t Be Stupid,” “Lets Talk,” and “I am sorry, I hope you have a good weekend.”
By distributing the texts to her co-workers, Choi “perpetrated and harmful narrative” that Hines sexually harassed Choi by sending her the messages,” according to the opinion.
Choi claimed she didn’t wish to have the matter investigated but her supervisors felt they had a duty to and required Hines logged into his Verizon account and provided his iPhone to the investigation when confronted with these texts. There was no indication that Hines sent the texts, the hearing board said.
Official records obtained directly from Verizon indicated that Choi sent and received the fourth text message in the Hines text thread at the time that she claimed to have received it, leading the hearing board to conclude that she also sent the first three messages. The first text had a time stamp that indicated it was sent over 40 minutes after Choi texted a manager about it. Her actions also tarnished prosecutors’ reputations and undermined the credibility for sexual harassment victims. Her lawyers did not immediately respond to ABA Journal emails seeking comment.
Hines told the Denver Post that he “wouldn’t wish this upon anybody,” and he was “living in hell” after Choi’s first accusation. He has sued the Denver district attorney over the handling of the investigation.
The district attorney’s office later determined that Choi’s casework was in “excellent order” with no evidence of fabrication, a spokesperson told the New York Times. The spokesperson also believes that the investigation was handled properly by the office.
