Opinion ID: 1980664
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Facts relating to Soininen I.

Text: On April 15, 1999, Ms. Soininen was arrested on a charge of driving while intoxicated. Soininen I, 783 A.2d at 620. Thereafter, on the evening of April 28, 1999, she was arrested for stealing flowers and potting soil, with a cumulative value of less than $200, from a nursery at which she had stopped after attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. When Ms. Soininen was arrested, she was in possession of a Schedule III controlled substance, the painkiller Vicodin, without a valid prescription. [5] Id. On May 24, 1999, Ms. Soininen entered a plea of guilty to driving while intoxicated. On the following day, she entered a separate guilty plea to theft and to the unlawful possession of a controlled substance. The court imposed a fine for these offenses, and Ms. Soininen was also sentenced to serve a ninety-day period of incarceration. However, the execution of the sentence of imprisonment was suspended, and Ms. Soininen was placed on probation. Id. On June 19, 1999, Ms. Soininen reported her convictions to the Board. On September 9, 1999, this court suspended Ms. Soininen on an interim basis pursuant to D.C. Bar R. XI, § 10(c), and directed the Board to determine whether the offenses committed by Ms. Soininen involved moral turpitude. The case was referred to Hearing Committee No. 1, and following an evidentiary hearing, the Committee concluded that the underlying conduct did not involve moral turpitude. Id at 621. [6] The Hearing Committee found that Ms. Soininen had violated Rule 8.4(b) (commission of criminal act reflecting adversely on honesty, trustworthiness or fitness) and Rule 8.4(c) (dishonesty). The Committee concluded, however, that Ms. Soininen qualified for mitigation pursuant to In re Kersey, 520 A.2d at 325-28, on the basis of her addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs. Soininen I, 783 A.2d at 621. [7] The Hearing Committee recommended that Ms. Soininen be suspended from practice for thirty days, but that the suspension be stayed and that she be placed on probation for two years, the probation to be conditioned upon Ms. Soininen's maintaining her sobriety, with appropriate monitoring and reporting. The Board on Professional Responsibility adopted the Hearing Committee's Report and Recommendation. Neither Bar Counsel nor Ms. Soininen excepted to the Board's proposed disposition. On October 25, 2001, in conformity with the unopposed recommendation of the Board, this court suspended Ms. Soininen from practice for thirty days, stayed the execution of the suspension, and placed Ms. Soininen on probation for two years, subject to the conditions of probation recommended by the Board. Id. at 622.