Lawyer sentenced to prenatal doc visits

AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) - A local attorney has been ordered by a judge to attend every prenatal doctor visit leading up to the birth of his son in March.

Criminal defense lawyer Adam Reposa had initially been sentenced to 90 days in jail for contempt of court - after making an obscene gesture at a judge during plea negotiations in a DWI case.

But he pleaded with the judge to consider an alternative program because he didn’t want to miss the birth of his first child.

On Wednesday, visiting Judge Paul Davis granted his request – in a way.

Reposa will have to spend 10 days in jail – with a release date Feb. 12. After that, he’ll spend three months on house arrest (allowed only to go to court, home and the doctor’s office) and participate in a work-release program on the weekends.

And in an unusual twist clearly inspired by Reposa’s reason for wanting to stay out of jail, Davis required Reposa to attend every doctor visit for his unborn child between now and the March due date.

The decision came after several judges testified in court that his behavior had improved dramatically since the conviction. Before that, one judge said, his behavior was habituatlly "degrading to the profession." The judges - Mike Denton, Carlos Barrera, Charlie Baird, and Mike Lynch - were subpoened by the defense to testify. 

"There are two levels of conduct. There's the kind before his contempt action, and there's conduct after his contempt action," Baird said. "I thought his conduct before the contempt action was reckless and sometimes negligent, and I thought it was unprofessional. I think that was combination of his reputation that he enjoyed. And since the contempt I've noticed a marked improvement. ... It's been exemplary so far."

Defense attorney Todd Dudley told the court that they weren't trying to dodge the sentence. Instead, they wanted to ask the judge to consider an alternative program afforded to other non-violent offenders.

Reposa, who once had a Web site called www.dwibadass.com (now defunct), was convicted of contempt of court in April 2008 for making "a gesture simulating masturbation" at County Court-at-Law Judge Jan Breland during plea negotiations, according to Associated Press reports.

Reposa spent about eight hours in jail before the Court of Criminal Appeals ordered him released pending an appeal. The conviction was later upheld.

Reposa turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday evening. Breland told reporters on Wednesday that she was glad the episode had come to a close, and that she respected and appreciated Davis' decision.

"I've always contended from the very begining that this didn't have to be this way, but I really hope everybody can go on from this," Breland said. "I hope that Mr. Reposa reaches his potential. .... I think Judge Davis took everything into account and made a resonable decision."

Reposa was licensed in Texas in 2003. On his Texas State Bar page , he refers to himself as Adam "Bulletproof" Reposa.