Opinion ID: 1997580
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: bar counsel's evidence

Text: The testimony and documentary evidence before the Hearing Committee revealed that Morris, a Jamaican national who had been living in the United States for many years, was convicted in 1979 and in 1980 of unlawful possession of marijuana. He was placed on probation and ordered to perform community service. On or about September 18, 1986, Morris was arrested and charged in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia with distribution of marijuana and with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute it (PWID), in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a). The following month, an INS immigration judge entered an order directing Morris to show cause why he should not be deported. Morris retained Michael Maggio, Esq., an immigration attorney, to represent him before the INS. Maggio requested a discretionary waiver of deportation, contending that Morris had been rehabilitated. On April 28, 1987, following a hearing, the judge found, inter alia, that Morris had continued to use marijuana and that he had not rehabilitated himself. The judge ordered that Morris be deported to Jamaica. Maggio filed a timely appeal on Morris' behalf with the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA). On June 1, 1987, a jury convicted Morris of both felony charges against him. On July 23, 1987, Morris was sentenced to serve concurrent terms of one year on each count, and a special parole term of two years was also imposed. Morris was remanded to federal custody. Chisholm, as Morris' counsel, filed posttrial motions on his client's behalf and noticed an appeal. On October 14, 1987, the United States Attorney moved to vacate Morris' convictions and to dismiss the underlying indictment. [3] Morris was promptly released from prison. Morris testified that while Chisholm was representing him in the criminal matter, Chisholm offered to handle the immigration matter as well. According to Morris, Chisholm assured him that Chisholm had prior experience in immigration law and that the would represent him for $1000, an amount significantly smaller than Maggio's anticipated fee. On September 2, 1987, Mrs. Morgan (Morris' sister) met with Chisholm at his office and engaged him to represent Morris in his immigration appeal. According to Mrs. Morgan, Chisholm assured her, as he had assured Morris, that she had nothing to worry about because Chisholm was very experienced in immigration matters. Mrs. Morgan gave Chisholm $1000. Chisholm gave Mrs. Morgan a handwritten receipt stating that he had received $1000 for services in Immigration Case. On February 5, 1988, Chisholm wrote to Maggio to advise him that Chisholm had been retained by Mr. Rupert Morris regarding his Deportation file. Chisholm requested that Maggio apprise INS of the change in representation. On February 24, 1988, Maggio filed a motion for leave to withdraw as Morris' counsel. Maggio submitted Chisholm's letter as the basis for his motion. On the same day, Maggio wrote to Chisholm and explained that Chisholm was obliged to notify the immigration judge immediately that he (Chisholm) was Morris' new attorney of record. Maggio advised Chisholm to file a duly executed Notice of Entry of Appearance Form (Form G-28), and he indicated that the judge would not act on Maggio's motion to withdraw until Chisholm had filed a Form G-28. Notwithstanding the information which he had received from Maggio, and in spite of the fact that he had been paid $1000 to handle Morris' immigration problem, Chisholm never presented Morris or Mrs. Morgan with a Form G-28. Chisholm later testified that he did not send the form to Morris for signature while Morris was incarcerated because he did not trust Morris to sign the document except in Chisholm's presence. He stated that Morris was a criminal who might later disavow his own signature. Morris testified that he telephoned Chisholm from prison periodically, and that Chisholm advised him that the immigration people could not find Morris' file. According to Morris, Chisholm assured him that no news is good news and that if Morris did not receive any written correspondence from INS, his case had probably been closed. Morris also testified that he telephoned Chisholm on the morning following his release, and that Chisholm told him that the INS still had not found Morris' file and that Morris should call Chisholm again in a few days. Morris did so, but Chisholm indicated that the situation had not changed, and he reassured Morris that Morris need not worry. Morris also testified that Chisholm told him that he (Chisholm) had filed a brief in Morris' behalf. Morris told the Hearing Committee that he was subsequently unable to make contact with Chisholm because Chisholm continuously attempted to evade him. Morris recalled that whenever he called Chisholm's office, a secretary would claim that Chisholm was not there and that Morris should call back at a specified time later in the day. When Morris called back as directed, the secretary would then tell Morris that Chisholm would be out of the office for the remainder of the day. Morris claimed that he left messages, but that in most instances Chisholm did not return his calls. Both Morris and Mrs. Morgan testified that when they did reach Chisholm and arranged to meet with him, Chisholm would subsequently cancel the appointment. [4] Morris testified that Chisholm's repeated reassurances lulled him into believing that his immigration matter had been resolved and that he had nothing to worry about. On February 15, 1991, however, Morris' immigration appeal was summarily dismissed on account of his attorney's failure to file a brief. [5] Morris and Mrs. Morgan knew nothing about this development until February 9, 1993. On that day, INS officials took Morris into custody at gunpoint and detained him pending deportation. Mrs. Morgan immediately attempted to contact Chisholm. She testified that she called every telephone number which Chisholm had given her, and that she checked all relevant directories, all to no avail. Finally, finding herself unable to reach Chisholm, Mrs. Morgan engaged John T. Riely, Esq. to represent Morris with respect to his immigration problem. Mr. Riely became the complainant in the disciplinary proceedings against Chisholm, and he represented Morris in a related civil action for legal malpractice. Riely was also a witness for Bar Counsel before the Hearing Committee. He testified that, upon being retained by Mrs. Morgan, he wrote to Chisholm at his last known address, but that the letter was returned as undeliverable. He also expended a considerable amount of effort to attempt to reach Chisholm by telephone, but was unsuccessful. Unable to locate Morris' previously retained counsel, Riely filed a motion in the BIA proceeding for a stay of the deportation order and for reconsideration of the order dismissing Morris' appeal. The motion was based on Chisholm's ineffectiveness as Morris' attorney. On May 5, 1993, almost three months after Morris' arrest, Riely secured his release on bond. On June 17, 1993, the BIA remanded the case to the immigration judge for reconsideration. Michael Maggio, Morris' original immigration attorney, also testified before the Hearing Committee. He explained that following the immigration judge's entry of the deportation order, the only reasonable option available to Morris under the immigration statute was to appeal to the BIA. Maggio testified that he informed Chisholm that he (Maggio) had filed a notice of appeal, and that he advised Chisholm that Chisholm would have to pursue that appeal. Maggio further testified that he offered to assist Chisholm in any way that he could, but that Chisholm never requested any assistance. Wayne Stogner, the BIA's Deputy Chief Attorney Examiner, testified as an expert witness on behalf of Bar Counsel. Stogner explained that it was necessary for Chisholm to file a brief in Morris' behalf in the BIA in order to protect Morris' rights. Stogner explained that failure to file such an appeal would preclude Morris from ultimately obtaining judicial review of the deportation order, because judicial review is available only if the alien has exhausted his administrative remedies. Stogner was also of the opinion that the filing of a brief would not have been futile, for achievement of a remand might have been possible in light of Morris' marriage and other factors. Stogner rejected the notion, advanced by Chisholm, that it was helpful to Morris to put the case on hold so that Morris could rehabilitate himself in the interim.