Houston DWI Attorney Paul B. Kennedy

Police whistle-blower attorney Mike Stefani will not face an additional misconduct charge of perjury – at least for now, the state's Attorney Discipline Board ruled this morning.

The board rejected a request by a legal ethics prosecutor to add the charge after Stefani testified earlier this month that he gave a copy of damaging text messages involving former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to the Free Press in October 2007.

That testimony, at Stefani's misconduct hearing on other charges, contradicted earlier sworn testimony Stefani had given, according to prosecutor Robert Edick of the state Attorney Grievance Commission.

But Anne Bagno Widlak, chairwoman of the discipline board, said today that the board panel considering Stefani's fate sided with Stefani, apparently accepting his argument that new charges cannot be added once a lawyer's misconduct hearing has begun. Stefani's hearing began Oct. 8 and remains pending, with additional testimony scheduled for next week.

Widlak said the board was not "taking a position on the merits" of whether Stefani committed perjury in his earlier testimony. Edick's office would presumably still be allowed to later charge Stefani with perjury, but that would be the subject of a separate hearing.

Kenneth Mogill, Stefani's lawyer, argued today that the discipline board does not have the authority to add new charges during a pending hearing. He said his objection to adding new charges now was not a stalling tactic. "It's important for Mr. Stefani to clear his name, his very good name."

Stefani is one of five lawyers facing misconduct charges for their actions during the text message scandal. He represented former cops who sued the city of Detroit and Kilpatrick, alleging that their careers were ended by the mayor in retribution for pursuing investigations that threatened Kilpatrick or his inner circle.

Among the misconduct charges, which remain pending, are that Stefani and lawyers representing the mayor and the city conspired to cover up the existence of text messages that would have revealed the mayor's lies at the police whistle-blower trial. Lawyers are generally under a legal duty to report false testimony to legal authorities.