Birmingham state herald., 1895-11-08
A SPECIMEN GOVERNOR.

The newly elected republican governor of Kentucky appears to be no improve ment upon the old carpet-bag and scala wag governors of twenty years ago. W. O. Bradley's record is not a matter of gossip, of rumor, of angry accusation. He has been pilloried and held up to scorn by the supreme court of his own state for engaging in a conspiracy to swindle and defraud. The record in the case shows that rascal by the name of Dun desired to defeat his creditors by fraud ulent disposition of his property. It shows that to this end he had sought the help of different attorneys. but that each and all of them had refused to engage in such dirty work. As the supreme court in its opinion said: Dun could find no lawyer in Nicholasville or Lexington who would give him the advice he desired and the witness who had acted as Dun's regular counsel for many years gave him no such advice" At last he carried his dirty work to Bradley and found a willing helper Bradley advised him to make a mock conveyance to his brother, to have a witness present to swear to the pay ment of a consideration and then have his brother reconvey the property to Dun's wife. Bradley afterward sued his client on an account "for legal advice to place your property beyond the control of your creditors" The court in reviewing the case said that the whole transaction was fraudulent, and that Bradley had. with full knowledge of its character, de- vised the means for accomplishing a dis honest act and that as he came into court with unclean hands he was entitled to no relief. In commenting on Bradley's conduct the court said:
 An attorney is in one sense an officer of the court He owed duty to 1t and to the law as well as to his client He vio- lats this duty in advising or instructing those applying to him for counsel or n- struction to attempt a dishonest evasion of the law, and much more so when, as inAthis case, the aid of the chancellor is in- volked to enable the client to perpetrate gross and outrageous fraud One of the means by which he was to secure to himself the future enjoyment of his es- tate was a decree of the chancellor em- towering the wife to hold property as feme sole. The official oath of an attor- ney at law binds him to discharge the du- ties of his office according to law Sec l. Art. 8, state constitution
 Fidelity to the client neither requires nor excuses advice leading to violation of the law nor the commission of an act or acts involving moral turpitude. When such advice is given, or when the client is instructed as to the means by which his creditors may be defrauded. the attorney is not discharging his duties according to law" but in direct violation of it. and a promise upon the part of a client to pay for such advice will not be implied, nor will an express contract to pay for 1t be enforced.
 'We are satisfied that the petitioner is mistaken in the assertion that "there Is probably not a lawyer in the state of Ken lucky of any prominence who has not ergaCed in this practice" Dun could find no lawyer in Nicholasville or Lex ington who would or could give him ad- vice he desired, and the witness who had acted in Lancaster for many years as Dun's regular counsel gave him no such advice.
 ''The petition must be overruled."