Ex-Prosecutor's Methamphetamine Use Should Lead To Suspended Law License, Board Recommends
DECATUR, IL — A former Montgomery County prosecutor faces a two-year suspension of his law license for purchasing, using and driving under the influence of methamphetamine.
Jacob Swanson, 33, of Springfield, admitted in an answer to the Illinois Attorney Registration and Discipline Commission, or ARDC, that he bought meth five times in 2023 after using it multiple times during the two years prior.
Swanson began working as an assistant state’s attorney in Montgomery County in October 2020, handling cases in traffic court, as well as juvenile abuse, neglect and delinquency cases.
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While working as a prosecutor, Swanson smoke meth with different people, including some whose names he did not know, “about every other day.” And on multiple times in 2021, 2022 and 2023, he drove a car with meth in his system, he admitted.
One of the people with whom Swanson smoked and purchased crystal methamphetamine was wanted on an arrest warrant. Swanson knew where that person and knew they had a warrant but declined to notify his law enforcement colleagues.
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On April 14, 2023, Montgomery County State’s Attorney Andrew Affrunti learned about Swanson’s drug use from state police and confronted him about it. Two weeks later, Swanson resigned.
The ARDC began disciplinary proceedings in August 2023, held a hearing in June and its hearing board released its report earlier this month.
According board’s report, which recommended Swanson’s law license be suspended for two years, Swanson completed a drug treatment program after police learned of his “illegal drug activity.”
At a November 2023 deposition, Swanson testified that his misconduct did not harm the reputation of the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, described the buying and selling of narcotics as a victimless crime and said “being part of an illegal drug trade doesn’t result in harm to anyone.”
Swanson testified at his hearing in June that he now works at a grocery story, had been sober for “at least one year” and acknowledged that he should be disciplined.
The hearing board’s recommendation now goes to the Illinois Supreme Court. Swanson’s attorney registration is currently voluntarily inactive, according to the ARDC.
Given the evidence and the aggravating factors, the ARDC hearing board suggested he be suspended from the practice of law for at least two years, with the suspension lasting until further order of the court.
This means Swanson’s reinstatement as a licensed attorney would not be automatic after the suspension period. He would need to petition the state’s highest court, which has the final say in whether he could resume practicing law.
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