MINNEAPOLIS — Madsen Marcellus, Jr., who in 2022 was hired by the Hennepin County Public Defender's Office in a supervisory role, has been disbarred in a ruling this week made by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Marcellus previously practiced law in Florida, where in 2018, he was suspended for 18 months — then disbarred in 2022. The court's decision doesn't reflect any new allegations from his time in Hennepin County but makes the Florida ruling reciprocal in Minnesota.
"Marcellus’s misconduct in Florida included participating in a fraudulent mortgage application that also violated a court order in a dissolution proceeding, failing to inform a court of the fraudulent nature of that application, willfully violating numerous court orders in his marital dissolution proceeding, violating the terms of a final judgment in his marital dissolution proceedings, failing to pay court-ordered fees and taking steps to avoid legal process, and failing to pay court-ordered child support over a period of several years even after earlier discipline had been imposed for that conduct," the Minnesota Supreme Court wrote in its decision.
Marcellus never reported the Florida discipline to the director of the Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility in Minnesota, the court noted. But in an interview with KARE 11 News, Marcellus said he never hid anything, never tried to evade punishment, and was trying to move forward with his life after a dark period.
The attorney's legal problems in Florida began in 2013 and led to an 18-month suspension in June 2018. Following his suspension in Florida, Marcellus returned to Minnesota.
He managed to be transferred to active status as a licensed attorney in Minnesota in October 2020.
In January 2022, then-Hennepin County public defender Kassius Benson hired Marcellus. Benson ended up resigning in October 2022 and pleaded guilty this year to tax fraud charges.
"Everybody knew [about my past]. I told Kassius. I wasn’t trying to evade," Marcellus said. "I worked my butt off and became a manager."
While Marcellus was employed in Minnesota, an investigation in Florida continued regarding the non-payment of child support. The Florida courts disbarred him there in September 2022.
Marcellus admitted in an interview that his child support payments were sporadic in the past, but he emphasized how involved he was and continues to be in his children's lives.
With the Minnesota Supreme Court's ruling, Marcellus is no longer allowed to practice law in Minnesota. He said he has a master's degree, is close to earning his PhD, and is looking forward to moving forward with his life.
The Hennepin County Public Defender's Office terminated Marcellus this week after the court issued its decision, Marcellus said.
