Opinion ID: 1303545
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: credit for reinstatement

Text: Under Rule 4.5(D) of the North Dakota Procedural Rules for Lawyer Disability and Discipline, a lawyer who has been disbarred cannot apply for reinstatement until the expiration of at least five years from the effective date of the disbarment. Dosch was temporarily suspended from practicing law by order of this court on October 20, 1993. By letter, Dosch's attorney has requested us to give Dosch credit for the time he has been under temporary suspension toward the five-year period he must wait to apply for reinstatement. Dosch has cited no authority to support his request. He made the same request to the Disciplinary Board, which concluded in its recommendation to us that this is not an appropriate case to grant the requested credit of time. We agree. Dosch took full advantage of the procedural protections offered by the careful and complex process that resulted in his disbarment. He did not consent to discipline, which was his right, but he cannot rightly demand credit for the time it took for his case to wind its way through the disciplinary process. Dosch's wrongful conduct involved recurrent dishonest activities, extending over a considerable period of time, and involving many complexities which added to the length of time for formal proceedings to be completed. We conclude Dosch is not entitled to credit for his time under temporary suspension toward his application for reinstatement. VANDE WALLE, C.J., and MESCHKE, LEVINE, NEUMANN and SANDSTROM, JJ., concur.