Lawyer sanctioned after second drunken-driving conviction

A West Des Moines attorney previously sanctioned for an attempted-burglary conviction has been issued a public reprimand for a second drunken-driving conviction.

Court records show that in April 2024, attorney James A. Sinclair of West Des Moines was arrested in a parking lot near the Tip Top Lounge in Ames and charged with first-offense drunken driving. In July 2024, Sinclair pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to two days in jail, according to court records.

A month later, in August 2024, Sinclair was arrested by the Iowa State Patrol while stopped on the shoulder of an Interstate 80 on-ramp in Polk County. In that case, he was charged with second-offense drunken driving, driving while revoked, stopping on a roadway, and driving without an ignition interlock device.

Court records show that in January 2025, as part of a plea agreement, Sinclair pleaded guilty to the second-offense drunken-driving charge and the remaining charges were dismissed. He was sentenced to one week in jail and was placed on probation for two years.

Citing the second-offense drunken driving case, the Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Iowa recently cited Sinclair for violating the rules of professional conduct.

Noting that the Iowa Supreme Court has recognized that drunken driving creates a grave risk of harm to the public and reflects negatively on a lawyer’s fitness to practice law, the board issued Sinclair a public reprimand.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch spoke to Sinclair by phone on Friday, but when Sinclair was asked whether he had any comment on the matter, the call was disconnected. Sinclair did not respond to subsequent calls from the Capital Dispatch.

The board previously reprimanded Sinclair in December 2000. Court records indicate that sanction stemmed from Sinclair’s arrest the previous January on a charge of felony burglary.

According to the board, Sinclair later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor attempted burglary, admitting that in January 2000, he had entered the half of his duplex in which he didn’t live and that he did so with the intent of assaulting the people inside.

In that case, Sinclair was sentenced to two years of probation.