Opinion ID: 1096437
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Did the Tribunal err in imposing a six-month suspension against Goodsell?

Text: Goodsell requests us to reduce his punishment to a public reprimand. The Bar urges us to increase the suspension partly because Prisock received an eighteen month suspension. However, sanctions for violations of these rules are considered on a case-by-case basis. Mathes v. Mississippi Bar, 637 So.2d 840, 846 (Miss. 1994). We can impose sanctions that are more or less severe than those of the Tribunal. Id. at 846. The following criteria have developed through Mississippi case law in reviewing sanctions for misconduct: (1) the nature of the misconduct involved; (2) the need to deter similar misconduct; (3) the preservation of the dignity and reputation of the profession; (4) the protection of the public; and, (5) the sanctions imposed in similar cases. Attorney R., 649 So.2d at 824-25; see also Mathes, 637 So.2d at 846 (citing Fougerousse v. Mississippi State Bar Ass'n, 563 So.2d 1363, 1366 (Miss. 1990)). When imposing the sanctions, this Court will also consider the American Bar Association's guidelines, specifically Standard 3.0 which considers: (a) the duty violated, (b) the lawyer's mental state, (c) the actual or potential injury resulting from the misconduct, and the existence of aggravating or mitigating factors. L.S. v. Mississippi Bar, 649 So.2d 810, 815 (Miss. 1994) (quoting Mississippi Bar v. Attorney ST, 621 So.2d 229, 233 (Miss. 1993)). This Court also looks to similar cases as a factor in determining appropriate discipline. Mississippi Bar v. Mathis, 620 So.2d 1213, 1222 (Miss. 1993). Goodsell's misconduct involved deceit. Such misconduct in the past has warranted suspension. Mathis, 620 So.2d at 1222 (imposing a one year suspension for violations under the Code and the Rules which was increased from the Tribunal's recommended public reprimand); Mississippi State Bar v. Smith, 577 So.2d 1249 (Miss. 1991) (suspending an attorney for sixty days for deceiving the court by filing a false acknowledgment of the bank's receipt of settlement funds); Goeldner v. Mississippi State Bar Ass'n, 525 So.2d 403 (Miss. 1988) (two-year suspension for attorney who misrepresented to the court on amount of fees due and number of hours worked for a client). The most important consideration in imposing sanctions is that the punishment be sufficient to `vindicate in the eyes of the public the overall reputation of the Bar.' Mississippi Bar v. Hall, 612 So.2d 1075, 1078 (Miss. 1992) (quoting Mississippi State Bar Ass'n v. A Mississippi Attorney, 489 So.2d 1081, 1084 (Miss. 1986)); see also Attorney R., 649 So.2d at 824. Given the number and extent of Goodsell's violations Goodsell is suspended from the practice of law for a period of one hundred eighty days. The Tribunal's finding that Goodsell violated Rule 4.1(b) is reversed and rendered. The Tribunal's finding that Goodsell violated Rules 3.3(a)(4), 3.3(d), 4.1(a) and 8.4(a), (c) and (d) is affirmed, and Jesse B. Goodsell will be suspended from the practice of law for the period of one hundred eighty days. AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED AND RENDERED IN PART; JESSE B. GOODSELL a/k/a J.B. GOODSELL IS HEREBY SUSPENDED FROM THE PRACTICE OF LAW FOR A PERIOD OF ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY (180) DAYS. PRATHER, P.J., and BANKS, SMITH and MILLS, JJ., concur. DAN M. LEE, C.J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by McRAE, J. McRAE, J., dissents with separate written opinion joined by DAN M. LEE, C.J., and ROBERTS, J. PITTMAN, J., not participating.