One lawyer sexually harassed his employees. Others “misappropriated funds.” Yet another referred to herself as Madame Justice, even though she has not been a judge—although she has run for state Supreme Court and described a black Republican congressional candidate as a slave.

A cloudy Friday afternoon is an excellent time to peruse the N.C. State Bar’s recent disciplinary reports. Here are the bad actors in the Triangle, according to the bar’s Web site:

• The Bar’s Disciplinary Hearing Committee suspended Robert Brown Jr. of Durham for five years for sexually harassing several employees when he was Durham County Public Defender. After serving three years of active suspension, Brown may petition to have the remaining two years stayed upon compliance with numerous conditions.
• Benita W. Gibbs of Cary surrendered her law license and was disbarred by the State Bar Council. Gibbs misappropriated entrusted funds. Her specialty, according to several online law directories, was business and real estate law.
• Durham lawyer David Curtis Smith surrendered his law license and was disbarred by the State Bar Council. Smith misappropriated entrusted funds. He was an administrative attorney, which means he helped clients comply with or challenge rules, regulations, and orders of local, state, and federal government departments.
• Kenyann B. Stanford of Raleigh was suspended for five years. Stanford misappropriated money from and lied to her law partners. She worked in civil litigation and defense.
• Rachel Lea Hunter of Cary was reprimanded by the DHC for referring to herself as "Madame Justice" on her campaign website after the Grievance Committee issued a Letter of Warning telling her that the reference was misleading and a Rule violation. On her Web site, Hunter defends her choice of titles, noting that “the N.C. Chief of Protocol might be surprised to learn how many others are using that name and not in any kind of judicial capacity. The gay male vampire freak in the United Kingdom, the creme de la femme in the United Kingdom (http://madame-justice.blogspot.com) and the female Pakistani prostitute are just a few."

Hunter ran for N.C. Supreme Court in 2004 and 2006. According to the Fayetteville Observer blog, She has tried running as a Republican (and accused her own party of corruption) and as a Democrat (and got disavowed after describing her black opponent a black Republican candidate for Congress as a slave).