Las Vegas attorney Robert Graham entered a not guilty plea before District Judge Kerry Earley on Tuesday and he deserves the presumption of innocence. But his attorney faces significant challenges.

Robert Graham remains in jail and facing a Sept. 5 trial. The prominent Las Vegas probate attorney hasn’t been able to make the $5 million bail after being arrested on charges of stealing $2.1 million from his clients.

The case has attracted plenty of attention precisely because attorneys, as officers of the court, are supposed to stand for justice and equity. Those who willfully betray and plunder their clients disgrace not only themselves and their profession but damage public confidence in the judiciary.

Graham entered a not guilty plea before District Judge Kerry Earley on Tuesday and he deserves the presumption of innocence. But his attorney faces significant challenges.

In early December, after Graham had abruptly shut his Summerlin law firm in the wake of a State Bar complaint and a law enforcement investigation, he called Review-Journal reporter Jeff German and spoke about the issue.

“I was responsible for litigation and felt I had no out,” he said. “So bit by bit, I moved the chairs on the deck. Each year, things got worse and worse, and I tried to bail myself out and just couldn’t.” He went on to tell Mr. German, “There’ll be a time when I can fall to my knees and ask [my clients] to please forgive me. I’ve sidetracked. How I ended up here, I’ll never know.”

That doesn’t sound like an innocent man caught up in an unfortunate misunderstanding.

All in all, Graham is charged with six felonies and two gross misdemeanors. Prosecutors allege he stole a total of $2.1 million from two estates and a trust account. They also claim he destroyed almost 3,000 computer files related to his practice and client accounts.

In court last week, Chief Deputy District Attorney J.P. Raman indicated more charges were likely. The bar complaint against Graham estimated the missing funds at far more than $2.1 million.

“But this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said. “There will be many, many more victims and much more monetary theft.”

At this point, the taxpayers are covering Graham’s defense, apparently due to his precarious financial position.His public defender, Brian Cox, said this week that he’ll be asking a judge to reduce his client’s bail in addition to contesting the charges against him.

The court should reject the bail motion. A defendant charged with looting millions of dollars that remain missing or unaccounted for — perhaps stashed somewhere for future access — is the very definition of a flight risk, Mr. Cox’s protestations to the contrary notwithstanding.

A bail reduction would trivialize the seriousness of this unfortunate case.