Title: Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Hennigan

State: louisiana

Issuer: Louisiana Supreme Court

Document:

340 So. 2d 264 (1976) LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION v. Lloyd E. HENNIGAN. No. 55436. Supreme Court of Louisiana. November 8, 1976. Rehearing Denied December 10, 1976. Alfred A. Mansour, Alexandria, Martin S. Sanders, Jr., Winnfield, for defendant-respondent. Henry A. Politz, Shreveport, Chairman, Wood Brown, III, New Orleans, Sam J. D'Amico, Baton Rouge, Leonard Fuhrer, Alexandria, Harold J. Lamy, New Orleans, Edgar H. Lancaster, Jr., Tallulah, John F. Pugh, Thibodaux, A. Russell Roberts, Metairie, John B. Scofield, Lake Charles, Thomas O. Collins, Jr., New Orleans, for petitioner (plaintiff). SANDERS, Chief Justice. The Louisiana State Bar Association, through its Committee on Professional Responsibility, instituted this disbarment proceeding against Lloyd E. Hennigan, a member of the bar of this State. The Committee's petition relies upon the authority of Section 8 of Article 15 of the Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana State Bar Association, effective September 1, 1971, and is based upon respondent's conviction in federal court for conspiracy to commit mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341. This *265 Court has original jurisdiction over these proceedings as provided in Section 10 of Article 7 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921.[1] On April 3, 1967, the United States Eastern District Grand Jury indicted respondent, Lloyd E. Hennigan, for mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1341, respectively. On December 18, 1970, after a jury trial, Hennigan was found guilty of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The court sentenced him to serve three years imprisonment. His sentence was later amended to three years active probation. Respondent appealed his conviction and sentence to the Fifth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals. That court affirmed his conviction and sentence. U. S. v. Perez, 489 F.2d 51 (1973). Respondent applied for a rehearing, which was denied. Respondent then applied for a writ of certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. On June 10, 1974, the Supreme Court denied writs. Respondent's conviction became final twenty-five days thereafter, in accordance with Rule 58 of the Rules of the United States Supreme Court. The Louisiana State Bar Association, acting pursuant to Section 8, paragraphs 7(a)-(d) of Article XV of the Louisiana State Bar Association, through the Committee on Professional Responsibility, filed a petition for appropriate disciplinary action with the Supreme Court of Louisiana on October 11, 1974. In response to that petition, respondent filed various exceptions to the proceedings, which this Court ordered referred to the merits. Respondent then answered the petition by way of a general denial, affirmatively asserting, however, that he was innocent of the charges for which he stood convicted and giving notice that he intended to produce evidence of extenuating circumstances.[2] On October 29, 1975, a hearing was held before John V. Parker, the Commissioner appointed by this Court to conduct the proceedings. Louisiana State Bar Association Articles of Incorporation, Article 15 § 8(7)(b) (1971). At the hearing, the Committee introduced into evidence the record of the instant proceedings, including the original petition for disciplinary action, certified copies of the certificate of conviction of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and photostatic copies of the opinion of the United States Court of Appeal, Fifth Circuit in the case of United States v. Perez, supra. At this point, respondent requested the introduction of the entire transcript of evidence before the United States District Court and of all motions and pleadings filed in that court subsequent to the conviction. The Commissioner overruled respondent's motion to introduce in globo the additional material on the basis that under the Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Committee is only required to introduce the "certificate of the conviction of the respondent." Respondent objected to the Commissioner's ruling and proffered the evidence. The Commissioner, however, did rule that particular portions of the record referred to specifically by page and line number which respondent desired reviewed would be considered. After the hearing on October 29, 1975, the Commissioner found that the crime, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, warranted cancellation of respondent's license to practice law. The Louisiana State Bar Association then timely filed its concurrence in the Commissioner's *266 Report with this Court seeking respondent's disbarment. Respondent contends that the disciplinary action pending against him is improperly instituted under Article 15, § 8 of the Louisiana State Bar Association Articles of Incorporation, which provides: Respondent argues that the instant proceeding should have been instituted pursuant to the Articles of Incorporation in effect at the time of the commission of the criminal act of which he was convicted. He argues that he was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud which is charged to have transpired during 1965 and 1966 and that the Louisiana Bar Association could have instituted disciplinary action any time subsequent to April, 1967. Respondent maintains that because the discipline provided for in the Louisiana State Bar Association Articles of Incorporation now in effect are more harsh than those in effect prior to September 1, 1971, this proceeding is in contravention of the United States and Louisiana Constitutions ex post facto laws. Article 1, Sections 9 and 10 of the United States Constitution; Article 4, Section 15 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921. Prior to September 1, 1971, discipline and disbarment rules were embodied in Article 13, § 12 of the Louisiana State Bar Association Articles of Incorporation. The former rule provided in pertinent part: In Louisiana State Bar Association v. Edwards, La., 322 So. 2d 123 (1975), the respondent attorney raised the same argument. He attacked the Committee's proceeding under Article 15, as amended and effective September 1, 1971, for a crime committed prior to the adoption and effective date of said article. We stated: In Louisiana State Bar Association v. Ponder, 263 La. 743, 269 So. 2d 228 (1972), in ruling upon an exception of prematurity, we stated: Although Edwards did not specify final conviction, the Court's reliance on Ponder, supra, which specifically applied the date of final conviction, supports the conclusion that the date of final judgment is determinative. This conclusion is further supported by 1 Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure, Section 175, which provides in pertinent part: In Edwards, supra, the conviction was based on the respondent's plea of nolo contendere, equivalent to a guilty plea for most procedural purposes. Hennigan's conviction became final twenty-five days after the United States Supreme Court denied writs. Rule 58 of the United States Supreme Court Rules; Cutrer v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 228 F. Supp. 787 (E.D.La.1964), aff'd Stevens v. Humble Oil & Refining Co., 346 F.2d 43 (5th Cir. 1965), cert. denied 382 U.S. 978, 86 S. Ct. 546, 15 L. Ed. 2d 468 (1966); See also Louisiana State Bar Association v. Ponder, supra; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Edwards, supra. Thus we hold that, as Hennigan's conviction became final after the September 1, 1971 effective date, the disciplinary action is properly instituted under the provisions as set forth in the 1971 Articles of Incorporation. The sole issue to be determined by this Court in a disciplinary proceeding based on a conviction of a crime is whether "the crime warrants discipline, and if so, the extent thereof." Louisiana State Bar Association Articles of Incorporation, Article 15 § 8(7)(d). The basic facts surrounding respondent's conviction for conspiracy to commit mail fraud were set forth by the United States Court of Appeal, Fifth Circuit, in United States v. Perez, supra, as follows: Under Article 15, Section 8(7)(d) of the Louisiana State Bar Association Articles of Incorporation, respondent was entitled to offer evidence at the Commissioner's hearing of "mitigating circumstances not inconsistent with the essential elements of the crime for which he was convicted." This means, of course, that he cannot offer in mitigation any evidence inconsistent with his guilt of the crime. Some of the evidence offered at the Commissioner's hearing was inconsistent with respondent's guilt. The Commissioner properly rejected this evidence. The disciplinary procedure is designed to avoid a retrial of the criminal charge, of which the respondent has been convicted under constitutional safeguards in a court of competent jurisdiction. The mitigating circumstances which respondent properly presented i. e., that since conviction he has led an exemplary life and that he has already suffered loss from the conviction do not detract from the fact that the crime relates directly to a flagrant abuse of respondent's skills as an attorney. We agree with the Commissioner's finding that respondent's conviction of conspiracy establishes that his conduct violates at least two provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility: In conclusion, we agree with the Commissioner's report and find respondent has been convicted of a serious crime which reflects on his moral fitness to practice law and find that under the circumstances of this case disbarment is the appropriate disciplinary action. For the reasons assigned, it is ordered, adjudged, and decreed that Lloyd E. Hennigan be and he is hereby disbarred from the practice of law in Louisiana and, accordingly, his license to practice is cancelled. Respondent is to bear all costs of this proceeding. *270 TATE, J., recused, having served as a character witness in the federal proceedings. DENNIS, J., dissents with reasons. DENNIS, Justice (dissenting). I respectfully dissent for the reasons assigned by me in Louisiana State Bar Association v. Philip J. Shaheen, Jr., 338 So. 2d 1347 (La.1976), No. 55,432. [1] At the time the Louisiana State Bar Association filed this petition for disciplinary action on October 11, 1974, the Louisiana Constitution of 1921 was still in effect. The pertinent jurisdictional authority is now contained in Article 5, Section 5 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974. [2] Subsequent to the filing of the answer, a supplemental petition to the earlier filed exception of prematurity was filed, alleging that the matter was premature because a motion for a new trial was pending before the federal district court. The motion was denied, but apparently is presently being considered by the United States Court of Appeal, Fifth Circuit. Before this Court, respondent is contending that his conviction is not final.