Title: In Re Seck
Citation: 258 Kan. 530
Docket Number: 73,196
State: Kansas
Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court
Date: November 3, 1995

258 Kan. 530 (1995)
In the Matter of KENNETH P. SECK, Respondent.
No. 73,196

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed November 3, 1995.
Marty M. Snyder, deputy disciplinary administrator, argued the cause, and Bruce E. Miller, disciplinary administrator, was with her on the formal complaint for the petitioner.
Howard E. Bodney, of Overland Park, argued the cause for respondent, and Kenneth P. Seck, respondent, argued the cause pro se.
Per Curiam:
This is an original proceeding in discipline filed by the office of the Disciplinary Administrator against Kenneth P. Seck, of Overland Park, an attorney admitted to the practice of law in Kansas. A hearing was held before a panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys. The respondent appeared pro se and the Disciplinary Administrator appeared by and through Marty M. Snyder, Deputy Disciplinary Administrator. The respondent's motion for continuance and his objection to the makeup of the panel were denied. After the hearing, the panel concluded that the following findings of fact were established by clear and convincing evidence:
Based upon the above findings, the panel concluded:
The panel concluded that clear and convincing evidence established that the respondent violated the following provisions of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct: MRPC 1.1 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 292), MRPC 1.2(a) (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 295), MRPC 1.3 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 297), MRPC 1.4 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 302), MRPC 1.5(d) (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 306), MRPC 1.15 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 332), MRPC 3.7 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 357), MRPC 4.1 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 360), and MRPC 8.4(c), (d), and (g) (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 379).
The panel found the following aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
Aggravating circumstances:
Mitigating circumstances:
"The panel heard Respondent's arguments in mitigation and found that there were no mitigating circumstances or factors, except that respondent has fully repaid the PIP lien and has fully reimbursed his client for her attorneys' fees."
The hearing panel recommended that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for a period of 2 years. The panel also recommended that the respondent be required to satisfy several conditions relating to his competence to practice law prior to reinstatement.
In his brief and during oral argument, the respondent took issue with several of the actions of the hearing panel. The respondent argued that several of the findings of fact made by the hearing panel were not supported by, or were against, the clear weight of the evidence. However, a review of the record convinces us that the hearing panel's findings of fact were supported by the evidence and that the evidence is sufficient to establish the violations found by the hearing panel. We adopt the findings and conclusions of the panel and conclude that the findings are established by clear and convincing evidence.
The respondent further argued that the hearing panel was prejudiced against the respondent because the panel was made up of the same persons who had heard a previous disciplinary matter concerning the respondent. We note that the respondent first presented this argument to the disciplinary panel for the first time on the date of hearing. Under the Board for Discipline of Attorneys Procedural Rule D.1 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 233), objections to the composition of the hearing panel must be made by a motion in writing at least 10 days before the hearing. This the respondent *534 failed to do, although he was notified of the composition of the hearing panel 3 months prior to the hearing.
Moreover, we know of no rule or statute that would prohibit a panel which has previously recommended imposition of disciplinary sanctions on an attorney from hearing a subsequent disciplinary action involving the same attorney, absent evidence of a clear and convincing nature presented by the respondent establishing bias or prejudice on the part of the panel. In his oral motion before the panel, the respondent alleged no facts and presented no arguments supporting bias or prejudice on the part of the panel.
Finally, the respondent argued that the panel violated his substantial rights in denying his motions for continuance. The record indicates that the respondent made his first request for a continuance 2 days before the scheduled hearing date. It was denied the next day, and the respondent made another motion for continuance on the day of the hearing. We have reviewed the record and determined that the panel did not abuse its discretion in denying the respondent's motions.
We have considered the respondent's past record and the evidence presented in this case. While we agree that the respondent should be suspended from the practice of law, we conclude that 2 years' suspension is not appropriate under the circumstances. We are convinced that the respondent should be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in this state.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Kenneth P. Seck be and he is hereby indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in the State of Kansas commencing on the date of this opinion.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the respondent shall forthwith comply with Supreme Court Rule 218 (1994 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 217) and pay the costs of this action and that this order be published in the official Kansas Reports.