Opinion ID: 1101393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: review of referee's findings and recommendations

Text: Having established our continuing disciplinary jurisdiction over Ross in the present case, we now review the referee's findings and recommendations: The referee recommended that we find Ross guilty of violating rule 4-8.4(c), Rules Regulating The Florida Bar (a lawyer shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation). Ross asserts that rule 4-8.4(c) is unconstitutionally vague. He argues that neither the rule nor statute defines dishonesty and that the common meaning of the word does not convey a sufficiently definite warning of the conduct to which it applies. We reject Ross's argument that rule 4-8.4(c) is unconstitutionally vague and find that a person of common intelligence could be expected to understand the conduct proscribed by the rule. We further reject Ross's argument that the referee's factual findings are clearly erroneous and lacking evidentiary support. A referee's findings are presumed correct and must be upheld unless clearly erroneous or without support in the record. Florida Bar v. Rue, 643 So.2d 1080, 1082 (Fla. 1994). [7] The referee relied on standards 5.11(b) and (f), Florida Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, in recommending that Ross be disbarred. [8] The referee considered in aggravation the fact that Ross acted with a dishonest or selfish motive, that he refused to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct, and that he had a prior disciplinary record. [9] Ross argues that disbarment is too severe a sanction. We disagree and find that the sanction is comparable to sanctions imposed for like conduct. This Court has not been hesitant to disbar attorneys whose actions undermined the integrity of the judicial process. See Florida Bar v. Swickle, 589 So.2d 901 (Fla.1991) (disbarment ordered where attorney suggested he had the ability to bribe a judge to reduce a criminal defendant's bond, even though the attorney was acquitted on criminal charges arising from the incident); Florida Bar v. Rendina, 583 So.2d 314 (Fla.1991) (attorney disbarred for attempting to bribe an assistant state attorney to obtain a lesser criminal sentence for his client); Florida Bar v. Rambo, 530 So.2d 926 (Fla.1988) (attorney disbarred for bribing county commissioner to receive favorable rezoning of a client's property); Florida Bar v. Riccardi, 264 So.2d 5 (Fla.1972) (attorney disbarred for bribing IRS agent to influence the determination of tax liability of a third party). Ross's misconduct exceeds that of the attorneys in Florida Bar v. Colee, 533 So.2d 767 (Fla.1988), and Florida Bar v. Jackson, 490 So.2d 935 (Fla.1986), on which Ross relies. In Colee, the attorney was suspended for ninety days after he approached the attorney for a defendant against whom a $1,000,000 verdict had been entered and told the attorney he was aware of evidence which could possibly prove a fraud on the Court, suggesting that the evidence was worth $200,000. In Jackson, the attorney was suspended for three months for approaching a New York attorney and requesting that his clients be paid $50,000 for testifying in a pending insurance claim in New York. In the instant case, in addition to requesting payment for his own testimony, Ross attempted to obtain a fee in exchange for avoiding giving testimony. Ultimately, Ross avoided service of a subpoena by falsely representing himself to be out of town for an extended period of time. In light of Lawyer Sanction Standard 5.11(f), [10] the aggravating factors present in this case, and the cases discussed above, we find no basis to deviate from the referee's recommended discipline. Ross's conduct in attempting to subvert the truthseeking process for his own financial gain demonstrates his lack of fitness to practice law. We accept the referee's recommendation that Ross be disbarred.