Opinion ID: 1887522
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Inconsistency of Disbarment with Cases Involving Similar or More Egregious Misconduct

Text: The imposition of sanctions in bar discipline, as with criminal punishment, is not an exact science but may depend on the facts and circumstances of each particular proceeding. In re Goffe, 641 A.2d 458, 463 (D.C.1994) (citing In re Haupt, 422 A.2d 768, 771 (D.C.1980)). Generally speaking, the magnitude of the transgression will bear some relationship to the severity of the disciplinary sanction imposed by the court. See Pennington, supra, 921 A.2d at 143 (rejecting the Board's recommended disbarment sanction as disproportionate to the gravity of [the] misconduct); Goffe, 641 A.2d at 464 (recognizing that the outer limits of sanctions will increase when dishonesty of greater magnitude is presented to the court). We operate under rules that require us to seek to achieve consistent disciplinary sanctions for comparable misconduct. See D.C. Bar Rule XI, § 9(g)(1) (requiring the court to adopt the Board's recommended sanction unless to do so would foster a tendency toward inconsistent dispositions for comparable conduct or would otherwise be unwarranted). To impose differing sanctions for comparable misconduct would bring about [an] asymmetry that [Rule XI, § 9(g)(1)] was intended to avoid. In re Reback, 513 A.2d 226, 230 (D.C.1986) (en banc) (discussing former Rule XI, § 7(3) to the same effect). The decisions of this court serve as overall guidelines to assist in defining the permissible range of sanctions. Goffe, 641 A.2d at 464. We adhere to this precept even if we are addressing cases that present new factual variations or cases where the court's view of the seriousness of the charges differs from that of the Board. See Reback, 513 A.2d at 230-31. While the prior panel of this court viewed this case as one for which there are no other cases of fully comparable conduct with which we must maintain consistency, [4] there are cases sufficiently analogous to review in an effort to maintain some consistency and to enforce a general sense of equality in the sanction imposed. These include cases involving attorney dishonesty, false representations to a court or other tribunal, and/or lying under oath, including testimony in a disciplinary proceeding. A brief review of some of those cases involving similar misconduct will demonstrate that the imposition of the ultimate sanction of disbarment in this case exceeds the range of sanction for cases involving similar or more egregious misconduct, as the Board apparently concluded. A useful starting place is the Board's review of the range of sanctions imposed by this court for cases involving dishonesty and misrepresentation. See In re Jackson, 650 A.2d 675, 678-79 (D.C.1994) (appendix). The sanctions imposed in the cases that the Board identified for the Court in Jackson (recounted here in the margin) ranged from public censure to a suspension for a year. [5] In Goffe, supra, this court made clear that the absence of prior cases imposing a greater suspension than one year for attorney dishonesty did not mean that term to be a ceiling: [r]ather, it simply evidences that no such example of attorney dishonesty of the magnitude of that demonstrated here has previously been presented to this court. 641 A.2d at 464. In Goffe, this court disbarred the attorney where his egregious misconduct involved not only a pattern of dishonesty and lying but blatant fabrication and creation of evidence. Id. at 460. Goffe manufactured evidence for use before the IRS, lied under oath to the Tax Court, and continued to lie about his actions to the Hearing Committee. Id. at 465. He forged signatures and falsely notarized documents to gain an economic benefit. Id. In rejecting the Board's recommendation of a one-year suspension with a requirement of proof of fitness in favor of disbarment, the Court explained that what distinguished the case most from those preceding it is the repeated resort not only to false testimony but to the actual manufacture and use of false documentary evidence in official matters. Id. at 464. Cleaver-Bascombe's case is in marked contrast to Goffe. Respondent's single episode of misconduct, although undeniably serious, dishonest, and aggravated by her subsequent failure to acknowledge it, must necessarily be viewed, as the Board apparently does, as less egregious than Goffe's, thereby warranting a lesser sanction. Other cases should be examined in order to assess fairly respondent's case against those for which lesser sanctions than disbarment have been found by this court to be warranted. This court imposed a six-month suspension with a restitution requirement in a case where the attorney used his client's credit card for his own personal expenses without her authorization, damaged the client's credit rating by failing to pay for the charges, made an undisclosed settlement for the account with the bank, and failed to abide by the settlement terms. [6] Elgin, supra, 918 A.2d at 366-72. In spite of the fact that the attorney essentially used his client's (money) credit card for his own personal use without her authorization for such expenditures, committed various other violations in the course of his representation, and made an insufficient showing of remorse by failing to repay the client $5000 he admittedly owed her, this court gave consideration to his lack of a prior disciplinary record and personal family circumstances and imposed only the brief six-month suspension with a restitution requirement. Id. at 383-84. Misuse of a client's money falls within a category which is typically subject to more severe sanctions. Addams, supra, 579 A.2d at 198 (Simply put, where client funds are involved, a more stringent rule is appropriate.). One can reasonably question why the first offender attorney in Elgin, who essentially took his client's money without right and without remorse, was viewed to warrant a sanction of only six months and restitution, while the first offender attorney in this case is viewed as warranting the ultimate sanction of disbarment. Among cases cited in footnote 5 covering cases involving dishonesty and false representations, two others should be examined further for comparison with the sanction being imposed upon respondent here. In Schneider, the attorney was disciplined for violating DR 1-102(A)(4) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation) for knowingly submitting false travel reports on eight separate occasions to his law firm and deliberately falsifying the amounts on his credit card receipts by altering them to increase the amount shown. Schneider, supra note 5, 553 A.2d at 209, 211. The alterations did in fact deceive the firm and potentially the client who would ultimately have to pay. Id. at 209. This court imposed only a thirty-day suspension for Schneider, citing as mitigating factors the attorney's remorse, cooperation with Bar Counsel, his newness to the Bar, and his clean record since. Id. at 212. Some consideration was given to Schneider's claim that he was only engaged in a short-cut method of obtaining reimbursement to which he thought himself entitled. Id. at 211. While respondent in this case does not have the same mitigating factors, she has some of them. Like Schneider, she has no prior disciplinary record, and no post-disciplinary violation has been reported. According to the Hearing Committee and the Board, respondent had rendered services for which she could have recovered the compensation without any misrepresentation on her voucher. Any differential warranted because respondent has fewer mitigating factors and more aggravating factors can be reflected in the length of the suspension and fitness requirement recommended by the Board and Bar Counsel. The question is whether respondent's misconduct warrants the wide disparity between the sanction she will receive and that imposed in the Schneider case. I think not. Further review should also be made of this court's decision in Sandground, where this court imposed a ninety-day suspension for an attorney who violated DR 1-102(A)(4), (5), and (7) [7] where the attorney assisted the client in concealing information about his funds in connection with discovery requests in a divorce action. Sandground, supra note 5, 542 A.2d at 1243. Significantly, this court noted that Sandground's knowing participation went to the heart of the controversy between [his client] and his wife and threatened to defraud [the wife]. Id. at 1248. His misconduct involved dishonesty in a judicial proceeding and threatened to advance the pecuniary interests of a personal friend at the expense of his friend's wife. Id. at 1249. Originally, Sandground also gave false information to Bar Counsel about the transaction. Id. at 1245. The question is again whether respondent's attempt to recover for her services by falsifying her CJA voucher is so different and so much more egregious than the violation in Sandground that it deserves the extreme sanction of disbarment, while this court imposed only a ninety-day suspension on Sandground. I think that the only fair answer is no. There is one case involving a violation of one of the comparable disciplinary rules coupled with lying before the hearing committee which is instructive. The attorney, who was disciplined for conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, like respondent here, also gave false testimony before the Hearing Committee. Thompson, supra note 5, 538 A.2d at 248. In Thompson, the attorney's discipline arose out of his knowingly assisting in the presentation of false statements to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in support of the application of his client for status as a permanent resident alien. Id. at 247. The attorney had a record of prior discipline, unlike respondent in this case, yet he was suspended for only one year for his misconduct. Id. Some cases in which more severe sanctions were imposed for lying under oath involved more aggravated circumstances or were the subject of mandatory disbarment by statute. See, e.g., In re Mann, 883 A.2d 887 (D.C.2005) (indefinite suspension for offenses including lying under oath, fraud and other criminal conduct in a reciprocal discipline case); In re White, 698 A.2d 483 (D.C.1997) (disbarment under D.C.Code § 11-2503 where the attorney was convicted of passport fraud (willfully and knowingly making false statements in application for a U.S. passport), a crime of moral turpitude); Goffe, supra, 641 A.2d at 465 (disbarment where the attorney manufactured evidence for use before the IRS, lied under oath to the Tax Court, and continued to lie about his actions to the Hearing Committee). Respondent's case is more like Thompson, than these other cases involving giving false testimony, and therefore, reference should be made to Thompson in determining her sanction.