Case Name: LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION v. Leslie B. PONDER, Jr.
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1976-05-17
Citations: 340 So. 2d 134
Docket Number: No. 54456
Parties: LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION v. Leslie B. PONDER, Jr.
Judges: DIXON and DENNIS, JJ., dissent.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 340
Pages: 134–150

Head Matter:
LOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION v. Leslie B. PONDER, Jr.
No. 54456.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
May 17, 1976.
Concurring Opinion Nov. 8, 1976.
Rehearing Denied Dec. 10, 1976.
John R. Martzell, Milton P. Masinter, New Orleans, for defendant-respondent.
A. Russell Roberts, Chairman, Metairie, Sam J. D’Amico, Baton Rouge, Wood Brown, III, New Orleans, Leonard Führer, Alexandria, Harold J. Lamy, New Orleans, Edgar H. Lancaster, Jr., Tallulah, Henry A. Politz, Shreveport, John F. Pugh, Thibo-daux, John B. Scofield, Lake Charles, Thomas 0. Collins, Jr., New Orleans, for petitioner (plaintiff).

Opinion:
SUMMERS, Justice.
This proceeding instituted by the Committee on Professional Responsibility of the Louisiana State Bar Association, under this Court's original jurisdiction. La.Const. Art. VIII, § 10 (1921), is based upon a petition for disciplinary action against Leslie B. Ponder, Jr., a member of the bar of this State practicing in Amite, Louisiana. The petition relies upon the authority of Section 8, paragraph (7)(a) through (d) of Article XV of the Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana State Bar Association as restated March 9,1971, effective September 1, 1971. The proceeding is founded upon Ponder's 1960-61 violations of Section 7206(1) of Title 26 of the United States Code. He was convicted on February 5,1970 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on two counts of making and subscribing income tax returns which were false as to certain material matters. After the conviction was affirmed on appeal to the Fifth Circuit, United States v. Ponder, 444 F.2d 816, writs were denied by the United States Supreme Court on February 22, 1972, 405 U.S. 918, 92 S.Ct. 944, 30 L.Ed.2d 788. The conviction therefore became final 25 days thereafter in accordance with Rule 58 of the Rules of the United States Supreme Court. Ponder's Federal sentence, both pecuniary and otherwise, has been fully satisfied. He received a full pardon from the Governor of Louisiana on March 6, 1972.
This action was instituted on February 19, 1974 by the Louisiana Bar Association through its Committee on Professional Responsibility. A number of exceptions to the petition were filed on Ponder's behalf. Opposition to these was filed by the Committee, and the exceptions were referred to the merits. Ponder then answered, and the Court appointed the Honorable Richard F. Knight as Commissioner to take the evidence and report his findings of fact and conclusions of law. After hearing the evidence on February 26, 1975, the Commissioner permitted the record to remain open until May 26,1975 for the filing of additional exhibits. He then submitted his report on November 26, 1975, in which the Committee concurred, concluding that the offense of which respondent was convicted was serious enough to warrant disciplinary action by this Court. The matter was heard in this Court and has been submitted for decision.
Before the present proceeding was instituted, the Bar Association filed a petition for disciplinary action against Ponder on April 12, 1972. This prior proceeding was based upon the same February 5, 1970 conviction of violations of Section 7206(1) of Title 26 of the United States Code which formed the basis for the present proceeding. It was also brought upon the authority of Section 8, paragraph (7)(a) through (d) of Article XV of the 1971 Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana State Bar Association.
Ponder filed a number of motions and exceptions to the Bar Association's petition and the matter was set for argument in this Court on May 10, 1972. Thereafter this Court rendered its judgment on November 6, 1972 denying the motions and overruling the exceptions. La. State Bar Assn. v. Ponder, 263 La. 743, 269 So.2d 228 (1972). Ponder's application for a rehearing was refused on December 11, 1972, and a Commissioner was appointed to conduct a hearing for disciplinary action against Ponder. The hearing was set for March 20, 1973.
In the meantime, however, on March 10, 1973, Ponder filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States to review this Court's judgment of November 6, 1972. In that petition he complained of several violations of federal constitutional rights.
Then, on March 20, 1973, a letter was written by the Committee to Ponder and his counsel to set forth its understanding with reference to the filing of a joint motion with Ponder to dismiss the disciplinary proceeding instituted on April 12, 1972, then pending before this Court.
The letter set forth that the Committee would "reconsider the entire matter under Article XIII of the Articles of Incorporation of the Louisiana State Bar Association, which was the controlling procedure prior to the adoption of Article XV of the Articles of Incorporation, which became effective September 1,1971." In addition to the procedures outlined in Article XIII, Section 12, of the Articles of Incorporation, which became effective in 1941 and which remained in effect until superseded by the 1971 articles, the Committee agreed to afford Ponder an informal hearing before filing any pleadings with this Court.
In consideration of the foregoing, the letter further stipulated that Ponder and his counsel would dismiss or withdraw the petition for writ of certiorari he had lodged in the Supreme Court of the United States on March 10, 1973. In addition, Ponder would forego any action against the Bar Association in any court, specifically the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, predicated upon the proceeding then pending against Ponder in this Court.
Ponder agreed to these terms. To implement the agreement, a joint motion was presented to this Court on the same day and the motion to dismiss was granted without prejudice. In addition, on March 26, 1973, Ponder withdrew the petition for certiorari in the United States Supreme Court. Thereafter, on February 19, 1974 the present proceeding was instituted.
It is Ponder's contention that the pending proceeding under Article XV, Section 8, paragraph (7)(a) through (d) of the 1971 Articles of Incorporation, is contrary to the terms of the letter of March 20, 1973, whereby it was agreed and understood that the Committee would, if it reconsidered the matter, do so under Article XIII of the 1941 articles in effect at the time of the 1960-61 violations of Section 7206(1) of Title 26 of the United States Code.
He asserts, moreover, that Section 8 of Article XV of the 1971 articles, as applied against him, is a bill of attainder and an ex post facto law in violation of the Federal and State Constitutions. The basis for this latter argument is the claim that Article XV of the 1971 articles enlarges the penalty for disbarment to a mandatory minimum of five years. He also argues that to apply the 1971 articles to an offense which was committed before their effective date is, in effect, a bill of attainder and ex post facto law.
Although the latter argument is answered by the Commissioner, there appears to be no clear cut decision disposing of the contention that the Committee has failed to adhere to its letter agreement of March 20, 1973. The Committee, however, answers this contention by asserting: first, the proceeding followed by the Committee was totally consistent with Article XV of the 1971 articles and was in no way inconsistent with former Article XIII of the 1941 articles; secondly, the reference to Ponder not filing an action in Federal Court against, inter alia, the Committee, an individual members thereof, has no validity for, they assert, Ponder has in fact filed a complaint seeking an injunction and $750,000 in damages against the Bar Association, the Committee and its members, in pleadings entitled, L. B. Ponder, Jr. v. Louisiana State Bar Association, et al., No. 76-251 on the docket of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
The first answer of the Committee is not well-founded. It may perhaps be said that the instant proceeding is similar in some respects to proceedings conducted under Article XIII of the 1941 articles, but there are important and significant substantive differences.
Section 12 of Article XIII of the 1941 articles provides that the Court may, upon application, vacate or modify an order of disbarment "whenever any member of the bar shall be convicted of a felony" (without specifying whether it be a state or federal conviction) and, by reason thereof, his name has been stricken from the rolls of attorneys and his license cancelled, and he is "pardoned by the President of the United States or Governor of this State." While this provision does not require that the disbarment be vacated or modified when a pardon has been granted, there is a strong implication in its content that a pardon warrants setting aside a disbarment. See La.Const. Art. V, § 10 (1921); La. R.S. 15:572.1; Pardons, 1856, 7 Op.Atty.Gen. of U.S. 760. See also, Effect of Pardons, 1857, Op.Atty.Gen. U.S. 284; In re Dileo, 307 So.2d 362 (La.1975).
Thus, arguably, Article XIII of the 1941 articles may have been advantageous to Ponder insofar as it indicates that a pardon warrants setting aside a disbarment. On the other hand, no reference to the effect of a pardon is found in Article XV of the 1971 articles under which the instant proceedings are being conducted. By these proceedings under the 1971 articles Ponder is deprived of the advantage which would result from the recognition that a pardon was a basis for vacating a disbarment — an advantage to which he would be entitled under Article XIII of the 1941 articles. No adjudication of his rights under Article XIII, Section 12 of the 1941 articles has ever been made.
Furthermore, by the provisions of Section 12 of Article XV of the 1971 articles "[a] minimum of five years must elapse following disbarment before the disbarred attorney may apply for reinstatement." Under the provisions of Article XIII of the 1941 articles, which the Committee agreed would govern any proceeding against Ponder, there is no minimum time requirement which must elapse following disbarment before the disbarred attorney may apply for reinstatement. See Section 15, Article XIII, Articles of Incorporation (1941). By conducting these proceedings under the 1971 Articles, instead of the 1941 Articles, therefore, Ponder is denied the right to apply for reinstatement until the lapse of five years after disbarment. The provisions of the 1971 articles are therefore more onerous in this respect.
The Committee's second answer is also without merit. It is true that Ponder has filed suit against the Committee as set forth in its argument. However, what the Committee has failed to note is the fact that Ponder did not file this suit until January 27, 1976, long after the Committee found it unnecessary to comply with its letter agreement of March 20, 1973 by filing the instant proceeding under the 1971 article on February 19, 1974. The matter would be viewed in a different light if Ponder had been the first to repudiate the agreement, but, under the circumstances, what he could not use as a sword, he may use as a shield. In the full context of the proceeding his resort to suit does not deny him the right to invoke the agreement of March 20, 1973.
It may be that the Committee decided after the March 20, 1973 agreement, and the dismissal of the first proceeding, that it was unable to proceed under Article XIII of the 1941 articles because the conviction upon which the action was based did not become final until after Article XIII of the 1941 articles had been superseded by the 1971 articles. And, since finality of the conviction was a prerequisite to disciplinary action on that ground, no disciplinary action was available under Article XIII of the 1941 articles. La. State Bar Assn. v. Ponder, 263 La. 743, 269 So.2d 228 (1972). Apparently, feeling that proceedings under Article XV of the 1971 articles were essentially the same and would not unduly prejudice Ponder, as the Committee contends, a decision was made to bring the disciplinary proceedings under the 1971 articles. In this respect the committee erred because there were significant differences between the articles of 1941 and 1971 as pointed out above.
Whatever the Committee's thinking on the subject may have been, even if the effect of the letter agreement of March 20, 1973 was to deprive the Committee of valid authority to bring disciplinary proceedings, we believe it is important to insist upon compliance with the agreement. If the Committee is of the opinion that the letter agreement did not have that effect, the Committee should proceed under Article XIII of the 1941 articles in accordance with the letter agreement of March 20, 1973.
For the reasons assigned, these proceedings are dismissed without prejudice.
DIXON and DENNIS, JJ., dissent.
. Articles of Incorporation, La.St. Bar Assn., Art. XV, § 8, para. (7)(a) through (d) (1971) provide:
"The following rules shall be applicable when a respondent has been convicted of a crime, to-wit:
"(7) After the conviction has become final, that is, all appeals have been concluded or exhausted, the procedure shall be as follows:
"(a) The Committee will file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking disbarment or any other remedy that the Committee deems appropriate, and the petition will be served upon the respondent in the same manner as in ordinary proceedings.
"(b) When issue is joined by answer by the respondent, a Commissioner will be appointed by the Supreme Court to represent the Court in the same manner as in ordinary proceedings.
"(c) At the hearing before the Commissioner, the certificate of the conviction of the respondent shall be conclusive evidence of his guilt of the crime for which he has been convicted.
"(d) At the hearing based upon a respondent's conviction of. a crime, the sole issue to be determined shall be whether the crime warrants discipline, and if so, the extent thereof. At the hearing the respondent may offer evidence only of mitigating circumstances not inconsistent with the essential elements of the crime for which he was convicted as determined by the statute defining the crime." La. R.S. 37:218 Chapter 4-Appendix, p. 47.
. Article XIII, Sec. 12, Articles of Incorporation, La.St. Bar Assn. (1941) provides:
"Whenever any member of the bar shall be convicted of a felony and such conviction shall be final, the Committee may present to the Supreme Court a certified or exemplified copy of the judgment of such conviction, and thereupon the court may, without further evidence, if in its opinion the case warrants such action, enter an order striking the name of the person so convicted from the roll of attorneys and cancelling his license to practice law in the State of Louisiana. Upon the person so convicted being pardoned by the President of the United States or Governor of this State, the Court, upon application may vacate or modify such order of disbarment."