Opinion ID: 1138579
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Insufficiency of petitioner's evidence

Text: (2) The greatest problem with the petition for review is an absence of credible evidence to support the claim of emotional incapacity. Petitioner has submitted nothing more than his own declaration and assorted medical bills and insurance documents. This is insufficient under the Standards for Attorney Sanctions for Professional Misconduct. (Rules of Proc. div. V, std. 1.2(e)(iv) (hereafter referred to as the Standards).) Standard 1.2(e)(iv) defines as a mitigating circumstance,  extreme emotional difficulties or physical disabilities suffered by the member at the time of the act of professional misconduct which expert testimony establishes was directly responsible for the misconduct. (Italics added.) Petitioner fails to meet any of the requirements of Standard 1.2(e)(iv). First, he does not present any expert testimony. He recounts a history of diarrhea and emotional ills and names eight physicians and three hospitals who have allegedly treated him. Conspicuously absent, however, is even a single declaration or report by any of these health care providers that substantiates petitioner's alleged problems. This alone renders insufficient his belated mitigation attempt. Second, the evidence submitted, such as it is, does not establish that the alleged medical problems were directly responsible for his rule 955 violation. Except for his own declaration, petitioner has submitted only a stack of unexplained, unsummarized, and unindexed medical bills and insurance forms. In light of his failure to present expert testimony, as required by Standard 1.2(e)(iv), we are not obligated to search through these documents in an attempt to arrive at a lay interpretation of them. We have nevertheless reviewed them, and we find nothing that establishes any connection, direct or otherwise, between his diarrhea or emotional problems and his violation of rule 955. Indeed, with isolated exceptions, they are nothing more than insurance forms that set forth the amount of benefits paid on petitioner's behalf but provide no meaningful information as to his illness or treatment. It is not even clear from the documents that his treatment occurred during the period relevant to our decision. Pursuant to our May 20, 1987, interim suspension order (as modified on June 17, 1987) petitioner was required to comply with rule 955, subdivisions (a) and (c) within 30 and 40 days, respectively, after the order's effective date of August 17, 1987. Thus, the last compliance date was September 26, 1987. Nothing in the documents shows that petitioner was incapacitated during the period between August 17 and September 26, 1987. Third, it is far from clear that the alleged emotional disability was extreme. Petitioner testified at the August 1988 hearing that, since May 1, 1987, he had been the chief financial officer and a member of the board of directors of a corporation. Petitioner does not explain how he managed to carry out his corporate responsibilities at the same time he was allegedly so crippled emotionally that he could not handle the routine and minimal paperwork under rule 955. Petitioner's claim of emotional incapacity is further belied by his conduct. To reiterate, the gist of his claim is that his emotional state prevented him from paying attention to his disciplinary proceedings and thus from complying with rule 955. He states, I could not open letters I received from the State Bar.... I did everything possible to avoid the issues regarding the State Bar.... I have been unable to deal with the emotional issues surrounding my license. Petitioner's conduct, however, demonstrates that he paid close attention to the proceedings when doing so might benefit him. His incapacity appears to have surfaced only when it worked to his advantage. For example, in response to our May 20, 1987, interim suspension order, he promptly petitioned us to set aside or temporarily stay our order. On June 17, we briefly delayed the effective date of the order. In August, petitioner filed two more applications for a further stay, both of which we denied. This activity is significant because it conflicts with petitioner's claim that he was incapacitated from complying with rule 955 in August and September 1987. Similarly, petitioner's conduct contradicts his claim that he was emotionally incapacitated during his August 1988 hearing of the rule 955 violation. After our November 1987 referral to the State Bar for a hearing of petitioner's noncompliance with rule 955, he filed in February 1988 a declaration attempting to justify his failure to comply. In April 1988, he applied to this court for relief from his default in Bar Misc. No. 5622. These acts by petitioner demonstrate that he was not incapacitated in 1988 from dealing with State Bar matters. Likewise, the transcript of the August 1988 hearing reflects that petitioner, who was represented by counsel, participated fully in that hearing. Moreover, only two weeks after the referee filed his decision, petitioner filed an application for hearing de novo. It is simply not tenable for petitioner to contend he was emotionally incapacitated at the hearing on August 16, only three weeks before filing that application. There is no credible evidence before us that meets the requirements of Standard 1.2(e)(iv) or that even tends to support petitioner's claim of emotional paralysis.