AUGUSTA – A Waldoboro attorney has been suspended from practicing law for 30 days for violations of the Maine rules of professional conduct.

Maine Supreme Judicial Court Associate Donald Alexander issued the sanction against Philip Cohen July 27 at a hearing in the Capitol Judicial Center in Augusta. The Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar and Cohen’s attorney, Walter F. McKee, had reached an agreement on the terms of the sanction.

The court imposed a six month suspension from Aug.1-31 for his professional misconduct, with all but 30 days suspended. Cohen is prohibited from practicing law or appearing as though in any manner. The disciplinary action is based on the agreement among McKee, the Bar Counsel and court that Cohen “engaged in conduct that was prejudicial to the administration of justice,” according to the court documents.

The case against Cohen began when Assistant District Attorney Andrew Matulis, of Androscoggin County, filed a complaint inDecember 2013 with the Maine Bar Counsel that Cohen had been charged with domestic violence assault in November 2013. Cohen was then charged in December with violating conditions of release for contacting the victim.

Cohen pleaded guilty in July 2014 to an amended charge of disorderly conduct and violation of conditions of release. The court then ordered Cohen be placed on deferred disposition for a year. With a deferred disposition, the court accepts the guilty plea and continues the case for a later disposition. The defendant must not have additional criminal activity during that time period.

In October 2014, the state made a motion to terminate the deferred disposition after Cohen had committed new criminal conduct, a domestic violence assault, in violation of his deferred disposition agreement.

He had allegedly got into a physical altercation with the victim at a rented camp in Jefferson in July.

Cohen was sentenced to 28 days of incarceration on the charges of disorderly conduct and violating conditions of release including separate fines of $1,000 for each charge. Because of his attorney status, Cohen served 19 days in the Segregation Unit of Two Bridges Jail in Wiscasset and the remainder of his jail time in the general population performing community service projects.

According to the court documents, Cohen violated the court’s order of deferred disposition and bail conditions by being in contact with the victim on numerous occasions by telephone, text messages, emails and direct face to face contact.

Communication between Cohen and the victim continued once she left the United States for Costa Rica. On two occasions Cohen left the county to visit the victim at her request, said court papers.

Cohen was admitted to the Maine bar in 1994 and has been engaged in in private practice in Waldoboro. He did not have a previous disciplinary record on file with the Board of Overseers of the Bar.

Sarah Shepherd can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com.