Opinion ID: 2207566
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: respondent's motion to remand

Text: On December 18, 1992, Respondent filed a motion with the Board, seeking to have this matter remanded for adduction of newly developed vital evidence and for reconsideration by the Hearing Committee of its findings and recommended sanction. Respondent asserted in the motion that he is prepared to accept a reasonable voluntary temporary suspension of his D.C. license to practice law pending further outcome of this matter by the Hearing Committee. The motion is based on the contents of a letter signed by Dr. Susan J. Fiester, Medical Director of The Psychiatric Institute of Washington, D.C., who consulted with Respondent for a period of five hours in October of 1992. After reciting the facts relating to Respondent's affliction with Bells' Palsy in 1984, Dr. Fiester's letter continued as follows: I believe that Mr. Woodard has not been able to fully accept the disfigurement resulting from his Bells' Palsy, which he experiences as `damage' and this has had a major detrimental impact on his sense of self and self image. Finally, Mr. Woodard appears to have psychological personality traits which have affected his functioning and have contributed to the current difficulties in his professional life. In particular, his narcissism inclines him to believe in the possibility of achieving unrealistic goals and makes it difficult for him to accept his limitations and chart an appropriate, realistic course for his life, both in the professional and in the personal spheres. It is my understanding that Mr. Woodard's benzodiazipine addiction was previously presented as constituting the primary factor related to his unethical behavior. However, I feel that psychological and psychiatric factors noted above, including serious difficulties in his interpersonal functioning leading to the failure of three marriages, damage to his self image resulting from his facial paralysis, three episodes of major depressive illness, and personality pathology which makes it difficult for him to set realistic expectations for himself, have also been important contributing factors. I believe that the very limited focus on his addiction as the primary contributing factor to his unethical behavior represents only one facet of a much more complicated picture. I believe Mr. Woodard's unethical professional behavior was the result of a complex diathesis of psychological and psychiatric factors which I have noted above. I would also like to add that during my meetings with Mr. Woodard, he has begun to discuss the problems that I have noted in this letter. He is becoming more aware of the nature of these problems and has shown an increased willingness to explore his problems. I plan to pursue this with him in future sessions. The Board denied Respondent's motion on January 21, 1993. It was the view of the Board that Dr. Fiester's opinion was not different from the opinion of Dr. Ratner relating to Respondent's personality disorders. Respondent did not contend during the hearing or in his post-hearing brief that Respondent's primary problem related to the matters set forth in Dr. Fiester's letter or in Dr. Ratner's testimony. Rather, all of Respondent's expert witnesses testified that he was addicted to prescription drugs, and one of them, Dr. Burbach, opined that his misconduct was substantially caused by that addiction. Apparently, after coming up short in the battle of experts, Respondent located a psychiatrist with a new theory. He now argues that Dr. Burbach, the chief proponent of Respondent's addiction causation theory, was mistaken. We are not persuaded. Moreover, Dr. Fiester does not provide the basis for a finding that Respondent's misconduct was substantially caused by the psychological and psychiatric factors set forth in her letter. And the letter demonstrates on its face that Respondent is not substantially rehabilitated from those psychological and psychiatric problems. Rather, according to Dr. Fiester, he is becoming more aware of the nature of those problems, and has shown an increased willingness to explore his problems. Dr. Fiester hopes to pursue this in future sessions. During oral argument before the Board, reference was made by Respondent's counsel to the motion for remand. The question was asked of counsel whether, if the matter were remanded, Respondent would voluntarily agree to a suspension. Thereafter, Respondent's counsel sent a letter to the Board stating that, if the matter were remanded, Mr. Woodard would offer his voluntary suspension pending ultimate resolution of these matters by the Court of Appeals. The Board did not feel it should remand the matter as a matter of policy. Respondent had ample opportunity to present his case, and he tried to do so through highly-experienced and highly-competent counsel. Six experts testified. The issues of causation and rehabilitation were exhaustively considered by an able Hearing Committee. Dr. Fiester's proffered testimony would have no bearing on those issues.