Case Title: The Florida Bar v. Jackson

Citation: 494 So. 2d 206

Docket Number: 66777

State: florida

Court: Florida Supreme Court

Date: 1986-09-18T00:00:00Z

Document:
494 So. 2d 206 (1986)
THE FLORIDA BAR, Complainant,
v.
Steven F. JACKSON, Respondent.
No. 66777.

Supreme Court of Florida.
September 18, 1986.
John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, and John T. Berry, Staff Counsel, Tallahassee, and Richard B. Liss, Bar Counsel, Ft. Lauderdale, for complainant.
Sandra J. Salter Jackson of Jackson & Jackson, Coral Springs, for respondent.
PER CURIAM.
This disciplinary proceeding is before us on complaint of The Florida Bar and the petition of respondent, Steven F. Jackson, for review of the referee's report in this matter. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 15, Fla. Const.
The Bar's complaint is based on respondent's refusal to appear for a federal criminal trial on a religious holiday, which resulted in a judgment of contempt being entered against him. The pertinent facts as set forth by the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, in its opinion affirming the judgment of contempt are as follows:
United States v. Baldwin, In re Jackson, 770 F.2d 1550, 1551-53 (11th Cir.1985), cert. denied, Jackson v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 106 S. Ct. 1636, 90 L. Ed. 2d 182 (1986). (footnotes omitted).
The referee adopted the Eleventh Circuit's recitation of the facts and recommended that Jackson be found guilty of violating Disciplinary Rules 1-102(A)(1) (a lawyer shall not violate a disciplinary rule), 1-102(A)(5) (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice), 1-102(A)(6) (a lawyer shall not engage in any other conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law), 7-101(A)(2) (a lawyer shall not intentionally fail to carry out a contract of employment entered into with a client for professional services), 7-101(A)(3) (a lawyer shall not intentionally prejudice or damage his client during the course of the professional relationship) and 7-106(A) (a lawyer shall not disregard a ruling of a tribunal made in the course of a proceeding) of the Code of Professional Responsibility and article XI, Rule 11.02(2) (violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility is a cause for discipline) of the Integration Rule of The Florida Bar. The referee recommended that Jackson be publicly reprimanded, *209 be suspended from the practice of law for a period of four months to run consecutively to the term imposed in a prior action, The Florida Bar v. Jackson, 490 So. 2d 935 (Fla. 1986), and be required to show proof of rehabilitation before reinstatement.
Jackson challenges the referee's report arguing: 1) that the complaint must be dismissed because the Bar did not sustain its burden of proving the charges by clear and convincing evidence; and 2) that the discipline recommended by the referee is excessive. We reject Jackson's contention that the transcripts of the proceedings before the trial court and the opinion of the Eleventh Circuit are insufficient evidence of the violations charged. The transcripts of the proceedings adequately evidence the factual setting leading up to Jackson's refusal to appear as ordered. Moreover, Jackson's response to the Bar's request for admissions, wherein he admitted all pertinent facts revealed in the transcripts, was entered into evidence at the final hearing. The record contains sufficient evidence to support the referee's recommendation of guilt.
We also reject Jackson's argument that the bar failed to sustain its burden of proving he violated Disciplinary Rule 7-106(A) which provides:
Jackson maintains that he "verily believed" that the trial court's order was an illegal infringement on his first amendment rights; and thus, acted in good faith when he refused to appear as ordered.[*] He contends that since the bar has produced no evidence that his failure to comply with the court order was based on other than a sincere belief in its invalidity, this Court should not find him guilty of violating this disciplinary rule.
The good faith exception to Disciplinary Rule 7-106(A) is in the nature of an affirmative defense. And as such, it is the respondent who has the burden to make a prima facie showing of good faith.
Good faith is defined as "an honest belief... . Honesty of intention, and freedom from knowledge of circumstances which ought to put the holder upon inquiry... . [It] describe[s] that state of mind denoting honesty of purpose ... and, generally speaking, means being faithful to one's duty or obligation." Black's Law Dictionary 623-24 (5th ed. 1979). The sincerity of Jackson's religious convictions is not questioned; it is the reasonableness of his belief that the trial court's order was an invalid infringement of his first amendment rights which we here consider. Both the contempt proceedings and this disciplinary action arose from Jackson's failure to give the trial court adequate notice of his inability to appear. As the Eleventh Circuit points out, Jackson had a duty to give the court sufficient notice of his inability to appear during certain days of Passover. If Jackson had informed the court of his religious convictions, in a timely manner, and had the court, nevertheless, scheduled the trial for the first two and last two days of Passover, a legitimate first amendment question would have been presented. See 770 F.2d  at 1557. If in fact Jackson sincerely believed the trial court's order was an unconstitutional infringement on his first amendment rights, considering the untimeliness of his motion to stay the proceedings and the complexity of the case, this belief was unreasonable.
Under the circumstances, we cannot conclude that Jackson's intentional defiance of the trial court's order to appear was a good faith test of the validity of that ruling. To hold otherwise would extend this exception to all cases in which a recalcitrant attorney claims a sincere belief in the invalidity of a *210 ruling, regardless of the reasonableness of that belief.
Finally, respondent argues that under the unique facts of this case a public reprimand is a sufficient punishment. We agree with respondent that under the facts of this case, the recommended discipline of a public reprimand and four months suspension with proof of rehabilitation is too harsh. However, in light of the recent disciplinary action against Jackson, wherein he received a three month suspension from the practice of law for attempting to obtain compensation for clients for their testimony as nonexpert witnesses, we feel a further suspension from the practice of law is in order.
Although we do not adopt the referee's recommended discipline, we approve his findings and recommendation of guilt. Accordingly, Steven F. Jackson is hereby suspended from the practice of law for one month, effective thirty days from the filing of this opinion, to run consecutively to the current suspension. No proof of rehabilitation shall be required before reinstatement. Judgment for costs in the amount of $1,096.28 is hereby entered against respondent, for which sum let execution issue.
It is so ordered.
McDONALD, C.J., and BOYD, OVERTON, EHRLICH, SHAW and BARKETT, JJ., concur.
ADKINS, J., dissents.
[*]  We have found no opinion of this Court or other jurisdiction, or of the ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility which addresses the issue of when, under DR 7-106(A), a refusal to obey a court order will be considered a good faith test of a court's ruling.