Missouri bar license suspended for former Illinois attorney

Listen to this article

 Stephen R. Wigginton, a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, had his Missouri bar license suspended Dec. 21 due to two misdemeanor convictions in Madison County, Illinois.

Wigginton is able to petition for reinstatement in six months after Dec. 21. According to the Missouri Supreme Court’s en banc order, his DUI convictions “interfere with the administration of justice by undermining public confidence in the legal system and profession.”

Wigginton, of Edwardsville, Illinois, served in his previous role from 2010 to 2015. Previously censored records revealed in 2019 that he retired after the U.S. Department of the Inspector General began an investigation into his affair with a subordinate.

Because he had been a part-time assistant state attorney for Madison County, a special prosecutor was assigned to his DUI charges.

In 2017, Wigginton pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol earlier in the year. He was sentenced to a year of supervision, alcohol treatment and $1,500 in fees.

In 2019, he was convicted once again of a DUI. He failed to comply shortly after.

Madison County Clerk Office officials told The Telegraph newspaper for a Jan. 3, 2020 story that it has implemented new practices “to avoid errors like the one that allowed Wigginton to get his driver’s license back” after his 2019 arrest.

On Nov. 2, 2020, he was sentenced to 24 months of probation, alcohol treatment and 160 hours of public service, and was ordered to pay $4,020 in fees.

The case is In re: Stephen Ray Wigginton, SC99318.