Platte County attorney who called colleague N-word needs to pay the price | Opinion
Lynnette Lockhart is an assistant prosecuting attorney in Platte County with almost two decades of experience practicing law. She spent nearly a decade in the U.S. Army, and is an adjunct law professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City — quite an impressive resume, if you ask me.
Lockhart’s direct supervisor, longtime Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd, described her as a valuable member of his team.
“Lynnette Lockhart is one of 14 great assistants in my office,” Zahnd wrote in an email.
Despite her credentials, when Lockhart, a Black woman, learned from Zahnd and first assistant prosecuting attorney Mark Gibson that a Platte City defense attorney named Scott Campbell called her a racial slur, she cried, according to a May 2024 complaint Lockhart filed against Campbell with the Missouri Bar alleging professional misconduct.
Campbell should be suspended — not simply reprimanded — for his actions. Below, I outline what happened, and spell the racial epithet as it appears in court records.
“When I learned that Mr. Campbell called me a ‘N----,’ I cried,” Lockhart wrote in legal documents supporting the complaint. “Certainly, I was offended and hurt, which might be expected. But what came after was weeks of self-doubt, incessant questioning, and frankly, fear of anyone, including those colleagues who I thought I could trust.”
For this column, Lockhart declined to comment and referred me to Zahnd. Messages left for Campbell and his attorneys James Morrow and Connor DeWitt seeking comment were not returned.
Recently the Missouri Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case against Campbell — last year, a disciplinary hearing panel determined he was guilty of professional misconduct. In Missouri, the state’s highest court determines punishment for attorneys found guilty of such conduct. Under state statutes, Campbell could be reprimanded, suspended or disbarred, or he could escape a penalty all together.
In court records, Campbell admitted he used the slur and expressed remorse. Campbell’s attorneys and a representative for the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel agreed to a joint stipulation and statement of facts that a reprimand would be the best recourse in this case, but ultimately the state Supreme Court has the final say.
There was no timetable on when a ruling would be issued, but the high court must first determine if Campbell violated the rules of professional conduct and, if so, what discipline, if any, is appropriate, court records state.
But anything less than a suspension for Campbell would be a slap in the face of every attorney licensed by the Missouri Bar to practice law in the state, no matter the color of their skin.
‘Is it because she is a (racial slur)?’
In March 2024, Campbell appeared on behalf of one or more clients in Division V of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Platte County for a criminal docket, court records state. Lockhart was the assistant prosecuting attorney handling the docket that day for the state. Campbell was speaking with another attorney about his ability to get along with various Platte County assistant prosecutors.
“When the other attorney complained about his recent difficulty obtaining favorable plea offers from Ms. Lockhart, (Campbell) referred to Ms. Lockhart by using a racial slur, asking: “Is it because she is a n&#*%$?,” court documents state.
According to Missouri rules for professional legal conduct, it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to “manifest by words or conduct, in representing a client, bias or prejudice, or harassment, including but not limited to bias, prejudice, or harassment based upon race, sex, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, or marital status.”
In his initial response to Lockhart’s complaints, Campbell wrote, “These allegations made me literally sick to my stomach.” As a result, he resigned as a member of the Sixth Circuit Judicial Commission, a nominating committee for judges in Platte County.
“I have worked with Ms. Lockhart on many, many cases,” he wrote. “I have nothing but respect for her as a person and as an attorney. The attorney referenced in the complaint went on and on extensively about his difficulty in dealing with Ms. Lockhart in negotiating cases. I have not had any issues in negotiating with Ms. Lockhart. I whispered in his ear a statement question, ‘Is it because she is a (inappropriate word)?’”
Campbell went on to write that it was now obvious to him “that what was heard was a direct statement, not an inappropriate question.”
“This situation has never occurred in my practice and it will never happen again,” he wrote. “I will continue to treat Ms. Lockhart with respect and dignity. Likewise, I am truly sorry for the pain this situation has caused her and I hope one day she will forgive me.”
‘Filthiest word in the English language’
I have written several columns before about the psychological impact the N-word and other racial slurs can have on African Americans. As Arizona State University English professor Neal Lester, author of the 2014 scholarly essay, “The N-word: Lessons Taught, Lessons Learned,” once told me, the racial epithet is the “the filthiest, dirtiest, nastiest word in the English language.”
“That word stops people in their tracks,” Lester said in a 2023 interview.
In her complaint, Lockhart wrote that for days, she cried on her way to work, while battling questions in her head of belonging and self-worth, she wrote.
“What Mr. Campbell took from me was my confidence in my professional standing,” she wrote. “I am now hyperaware of how different I am than most of the practitioners in Platte County, and the Missouri Bar, a fact that didn’t weigh on me almost daily until Mr. Campbell pointed it out for me. By using the N word (according to his own admission), Mr. Campbell has shown his inability to ever respect me as a human being, let alone a professional.”
In his email to me, Zahnd, the outgoing Platte County prosecutor, wrote that Lockhart “deserves to feel welcome to practice law in our good and great county, just like any other attorney of any race, religion, or other demographic background.”
“I expect all my assistant prosecutors to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and to adhere to the highest standards of professionalism,” Zahnd wrote. “I also expect that they receive similar treatment from criminal defense attorneys.”
I must commend Zahnd, Gibson and every other attorney who has shown a willingness to stand up for Lockhart in this matter. Confronting racism and racist behavior isn’t easy or comfortable — nor should it be.
But even for high-achieving Black Americans like Lockhart, no amount of success can protect them from the real visceral effects of being called a racial epithet.
“That’s the problem with the N word,” Lockhart wrote in the complaint. “There are not enough academic, professional, or financial accomplishments in the world for me to attain that can outweigh the color of my skin. I thought, after practicing law for over 15 years, serving my country for nine years in the United States Army, and being a resident of Platte County for almost 10 years, that I wouldn’t have to see myself as different than my neighbors, colleagues, and friends.”
