FAYETTEVILLE — A federal judge will rule later whether attorneys for a former Washington County sheriff's captain should be disqualified from representing him in a federal sexual harassment lawsuit.
Sgt. Lori Schmidt and Cpl. Stephanie Guenther claim their federal civil rights were violated. Their lawsuit names Sheriff Tim Helder as a defendant along with Maj. Rick Hoyt and former Capt. Randy Osburn.
The lawsuit includes claims Helder and subordinates have tolerated male employees talking openly about sexual practices and watching strip searches of female prisoners. Helder and Hoyt are accused of improperly dismissing a sexual harassment complaint filed by Schmidt against Osburn in March.
The complaint also claims free speech violations.
Osburn is represented by Taylor Law Partners of Fayetteville.
Schmidt says the firm represented her in a divorce. Guenther says the firm represented her husband in his divorce, custody and child support disputes with his ex-wife. The women say they shared emotional and financial information with Taylor firm lawyers they believe Osburn could use against them in the Sheriff's Office case. The women want the Taylor firm barred from representing Osburn.
Taylor attorneys say Stephanie Guenther was never a client and they have not represented Schmidt since 2008. The divorces and the sexual harassment case do not involve related issues, they claim.
At a hearing Friday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Jimm Hendren questioned attorneys for both sides extensively before saying he will take the matter under advisement and issue a written opinion later.
Hendren said he wanted more time to consider the pleadings, the questions involved and to do more legal research.
Hendren said litigants should have the lawyer of their choice, if possible, but other litigants should not be unfairly disadvantaged by having to worry about what information could surface from a prior relationship. Hendren said it is also important to protect the integrity of the legal profession and an attorney’s integrity or ethics should not be called into question.
Hendren said he prefers to think of the issue as a difference of opinion about whether the Taylor firm can represent Osburn.