Opinion ID: 2558572
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Respondent's Attitude

Text: At no point did Respondent ever express any hint of regret or remorse for anything that has happened since 2001 or any acknowledgement of wrongdoing. Also, Respondent's erratic behavior during the hearing left a significant doubt in the minds of the Committee concerning her stability, which in turn raises concerns about her ability to represent others according to the standards established by the Rules. In particular, Respondent on more than one occasion accused the Committee of being biased against her and not allowing her an adequate opportunity to be heard and defend herself. In fact, without any warning or specific provocation, Respondent charged on one occasion that the Chairman was particularly biased against her and that as a result, she intended to make a motion to suspend the proceedings so that they could be re-heard by a different panel See Tr. at 683-85. The record shows that Respondent was given more than ample opportunity to defend herself. The hearing covered six days and almost eighteen hundred pages of transcripts involving testimony from no less than 10 witnesses. Furthermore, the Committee gave the Respondent the opportunity to ask questions of witnesses that were not always obviously relevant and gave the Respondent broad latitude in the manner in which she asked such questions, often over the objection of Bar Counsel who asserted that the questioning was tantamount to testifying. The Committee is very confident that its review and handling of this case has been free of any bias whatsoever against the Respondent, and that any objective observer would come to this conclusion based on its own review of the record. Finally, the Committee would also note that even the Respondent stated at the beginning of her closing argument that she had experienced a change of mind with respect to whether the Committee could fairly adjudicate her case: I did have doubts as to ... whether or not you all were going to be, apply the rules situation, and basically assure that Bar Counsel actually sticks to the standard of proof ... but I do believe that ... whatever decision its, that this is a fair and just decision. Tr. at 1651.