United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
06-1161
SOL SHEINBEIN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Jon W. Dudas, DIRECTOR, U.S. PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE,
Defendant-Appellee.
Sol Sheinbein, of Falls Church, Virginia, pro se.
John M. Whealan, Solicitor, Office of the Solicitor, United States Patent and Trademark Office, of Arlington, Virginia, for defendant-appellee. With him on the brief were Thomas L. Stoll, Linda M. Isacson, and Sydney O. Johnson, Jr., Associate Solicitors.
Appealed from: United States District Court for the District of Columbia
Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
06-1161
SOL SHEINBEIN,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
Jon W. Dudas, DIRECTOR, U.S. PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE,
Defendant-Appellee.
____________________________
DECIDED: September 25, 2006 ____________________________
Before NEWMAN, LOURIE, and RADER, Circuit Judges.
LOURIE, Circuit Judge.
DECISION
Sol Sheinbein appeals from the judgment of the United States District Court for
the District of Columbia sustaining the decision of the United States Patent and
Trademark Office ("USPTO") excluding Sheinbein from practice before the USPTO.
Sheinbein v. Dudas, Civ. No. 05-1460 (D.D.C. Oct. 25, 2005) ("Decision"). Because the
USPTO has statutory authority to so exclude Sheinbein based on his disbarment in
other jurisdictions, and because the statute of limitations does not preclude Sheinbein's
exclusion, we affirm. BACKGROUND
In 1997, Sheinbein, a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and the
State of Maryland and an attorney registered to practice in the USPTO, helped his son
flee to Israel after learning that the son was being investigated in connection with a
murder. Decision, slip op. at 1-2. In 2001, the Maryland Court of Appeals determined
that Sheinbein had committed the criminal act of obstructing or hindering a police officer
and had engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Id., slip op. at 2.
Based on those findings, Sheinbein was barred from practicing law in Maryland on
December 16, 2002. Id. On March 11, 2004, the D.C. Court of Appeals barred
Sheinbein from the practice of law in the District of Columbia as reciprocal discipline for
his misconduct in Maryland. Id.
In March 2004, the Director of the USPTO's Office of Enrollment and Discipline
filed a complaint instituting a disciplinary proceeding pursuant to 37 C.F.R. § 10.134 that
proposed to exclude Sheinbein from practice in the USPTO based on his disbarment in
the State of the Maryland and the District of Columbia. Id., slip op. at 2-3. Following
motions for summary judgment by both the USPTO and Sheinbein, an Administrative
Law Judge ("ALJ") issued an Initial Decision holding that Sheinbein should be excluded
from practice in the USPTO for two reasons: first, reciprocal discipline due to his
disbarment in Maryland and the District of Columbia; and second, applying the five
factors in 37 C.F.R. § 10.154(b), disbarment was the "only appropriate sanction." Id.,
slip op. at 3. Sheinbein appealed the ALJ's Initial Decision to the Director of the
USPTO, who adopted the ALJ's factual findings and legal conclusions and imposed the
sanction of excluding Sheinbein from practice in the USPTO. Id.