DA Linda Stanley to be disbarred for Morphew case misconduct

DENVER (KDVR) — Linda Stanley, the 11th Judicial district attorney who oversaw the prosecution and eventual dismissal of charges against Barry Morphew, will be disbarred, according to an opinion issued Tuesday by the Colorado Supreme Court.

With this, Stanley will no longer be able to practice law in the state of Colorado.

The order will not go into effect until after a period of time has passed. According to the court, this time is typically 35 days, but it could end up being longer.

Stanley will have the right to appeal the decision during this time.

Stanley oversaw the prosecution of Morphew, who was accused of killing his wife Suzanne after she was reported missing in 2020. Her body was found in 2023 and her death has since been ruled a homicide .

However, Barry Morphew was charged before her body was found, with the charges eventually being dismissed without prejudice in 2022 . As of Tuesday, no further criminal charges had been brought against Morphew.

The order was at the end of an 83-page court opinion by the Colorado Supreme Court. In it, Stanley was described as “a ship’s captain who never appeared on the bridge.”

“[Stanley’s] absence at the helm during key phases of the prosecution – even when she was warned that it faced rough waters – led to a series of events that ended with the first-degree murder case running aground,” the opinion stated.

The Morphew case was not the only one brought up by the court.

According to the opinion, Stanley made “unjustifiable extrajudicial statements” in two other unrelated cases and launched an in-house investigation into the judge presiding over the Morphew case “in an attempt to find evidence” to disqualify them before trial.

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