When Lori Ann Butts returned to prosecuting cases for the Portsmouth Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office late last year, the most recent suspension of her law license had ended and she was free to practice.
Butts’ license had been suspended for 45 days, beginning Oct. 25, according to documents from the Virginia State Bar. The reason: She had prosecuted cases for the Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for more than two years while her license was suspended for repeated failure to pay annual dues.
Then in February — two months after Butts went back to prosecuting in Portsmouth — the bar put the brakes on her license again. That time the punishment was much longer — 10½ months — exactly what bar officials had told her would happen if she violated the conditions that had been set…