Opinion ID: 1156703
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: Measure Of Discipline

Text: Considering Colston's emotional and mental state of mind as mitigating factors, we are ineluctably led to believe that suspension for any period is not a fit sanction for misconduct of the enormity shown by this record. This is not a case of a single isolated occurrence of deviant conduct by a lawyer with an otherwise unblemished record. We are confronted here with a five-year pattern of highly deceptive practices having serious adverse financial consequences to the clients and to others. These practices took many forms  the forging of adverse parties' appearances, fraud in obtaining public officials' signatures, neglect of clients' legal matters and false representations about the status of cases. The enormity and severity of the harmful misconduct shown by the record damages the whole profession's image as a licensed community of practitioners worthy of public trust. Maintenance of public confidence in this court as a reliable licensing authority and in the bar as a whole mandates severe discipline for Colston's deceptive and harmful practices. The risk to the public is far too great to countenance less than a complete severence of the offending practitioner from the ranks of the practising community. Colston's disbarment is the only means of affording the public the requisite modicum of protection. PRT'S RECOMMENDATION IS REJECTED; RESPONDENT IS DISBARRED AND ORDERED TO BEAR THE COSTS OF THIS PROCEEDING, WHICH SHALL BE DUE WHEN THIS OPINION BECOMES FINAL. HARGRAVE, C.J., and LAVENDER, SIMMS and DOOLIN, JJ., concur. HODGES, ALMA WILSON, KAUGER and SUMMERS, JJ., concur in part and dissent in part.