Opinion ID: 2071422
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Hearing Committee Proceedings

Text: This matter was heard by Hearing Committee Number Two on October 31, 1995, and November 16, 1995. [1] At the conclusion of the hearings, the Committee filed a report in which it recommended that the Petition for Reinstatement be denied. The factual findings of the Committee leading to its ultimate conclusion are not in dispute. Rather, Petitioner takes issue with many of the adverse inferences drawn by the Committee from the undisputed evidence. The evidence presented to the Committee showed that during the five-year period until on or about November 9, 1990, Petitioner was employed as the Chief, Division of Grants Management and Internal Equal Employment Opportunity, Urban Mass Transit Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). (Petition for Reinstatement Addendum, Question 4; Tr. I at 100-101). While so employed, he engaged in certain political activity on behalf of the campaign of Sharon Pratt Dixon (Kelly), who was running for Mayor of the District of Columbia. (Tr. I at 169) After the election, Respondent resigned from his DOT position, and worked on Mayor Kelly's transition team. (Tr. I at 169) When the new administration took office, Petitioner was employed as Director, D.C. Office of International Business. (Petitioner's Addendum, Question 4). On October 20, 1991, the Office of Special Counsel of the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) charged Petitioner with four violations of the Hatch Act. An Administrative Law Judge found that Petitioner had committed three Hatch Act violations, and recommended a 60-day suspension. (BX 5 at p. 2) The ALJ's decision was appealed to the MSPB, which issued a final decision and order holding that Petitioner had committed four Hatch Act violations, and ordering his removal from service. (BX 5 at p. 19) The MSPB found that Petitioner's involvement in illegal activities was substantive and pervasive, and continued for a long period of time, despite his professed knowledge of the Hatch Act and its restrictions. (BX 5 at p. 15). The MSPB also found that the Administrative Law Judge's assessment of Petitioner's lack of credibility as a witness was a sound one, and worthy of deference, as it is carefully reasoned and based upon appropriate criteria. (BX 5 at p. 9) Evidence of certain conduct engaged in by Petitioner while employed at the DOT, apart from his Hatch Act violations, also was found by the MSPB, as well as Hearing Committee Number Two in this matter, to militate against Petitioner's credibility and character. Thus, in August of 1990, Petitioner lied to his supervisor by claiming that he needed to take annual leave to care for his wife, whereas, in fact, he worked for the State Department on a contract basis while purportedly on annual leave. (BX 5 at p. 17; Tr. I at 215-218) In September of 1990, he requested 192 hours of annual leave, although he had not accumulated that number of hours. When the request was denied, he submitted medical statements related to an undiagnosed illness. He then performed services at the State Department on a contract basis from September 15 to October 15, 1990, during which time he was declared to be AWOL from the DOT. (Tr. I at 162-169; BX 5 at pp. 13, 17). Another major concern of the Committee were the numerous inaccuracies in Petitioner's answers to the Reinstatement Questionnaire. (Comm. Rep. at 8) These included misstatements as to (1) the dates he worked for the State Department; (2) the dates he was employed by the D.C. Office of International Business; (3) the debts he owed; and (3) his earnings and income. (Comm. Rep. at 8-9) The Committee also was critical of Petitioner's failure to make any effort to repay the U.S. Government for the illegal transportation requests, amounting to approximately $1,000. (Comm. Rep. at 7-8). In addition, the Committee found to be misleading and inappropriate Petitioner's reference to himself as Doctor, on his business cards, and concluded that his explanation for such conduct was not credible. (Comm. Rep. at 8) Although Petitioner produced a number of character witnesses, the Committee gave little, if any, weight to their testimony for the reason that none of them had detailed knowledge of Petitioner's criminal conduct or his Hatch Act violations, and were unaware of his poor work performance and his deceptions while employed at the DOT. (Comm. Rep. at 9-11; 18-19) Nor was the Committee satisfied that Petitioner possessed the necessary qualifications and competence to resume the practice of law in this jurisdiction. (Comm. Rep. at 19) The Committee summed up its views on Petitioner's credibility as follows: [T]he Committee concludes that Petitioner did not exhibit truthfulness and candor in his dealings with the Committee. His expressions of remorse did not ring true; he appeared to give lip service to the concept but did not demonstrate, by words or demeanor, a full acknowledgement of the seriousness of his misconduct. (Comm. Rep. at 12) Placing all the above in the context of the criteria for readmission to the Bar laid down Rule XI, § 16(d), and by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in In re Roundtree, 503 A.2d 1215, 1217 (D.C.1985), the Committee found that Respondent met none of them, and, recommended that his petition for reinstatement be denied.