Opinion ID: 2318844
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Violation of MRPC 8.4(d)

Text: Maryland Rule of Professional Conduct Misconduct. It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to: ... (d) engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice;.... Judge Holland concluded that Petitioner failed to provide clear and convincing evidence to support its allegation that Respondent violated MRPC 8.4(d). Citing Mooney in its exceptions, Petitioner contends that Respondent's failure to appear at the scheduled court proceedings was conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, and a violation of MRPC 8.4(d) in both matters. We agree. An attorney's failure to adequately represent a client violates MRPC 8.4(d). See Mooney, 359 Md. at 83, 753 A.2d at 31; Brown, 353 Md. at 286, 725 A.2d at 1076 (1999). We held in Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Ficker, 319 Md. 305, 572 A.2d 501 (1990), that an attorney's tardiness or absence from a scheduled proceeding may violate former Code of Professional Responsibility Disciplinary Rule (DR) 1-102(A)(5), [14] which contained virtually the same text as current MRPC 8.4(d). Ficker, 319 Md. at 313-15, 572 A.2d at 505-06. See also Mooney, 359 Md. at 83, 753 A.2d at 31; Brown, 353 Md. at 286, 725 A.2d at 1076. We explained in Ficker: [A]n attorney plays such an integral role in the judicial process that without his presence the wheels of justice must, necessarily, grind to a halt. The attorney's absence from the courtroom is immediately cognizable by the judge and intrudes upon the operation and dignity of the court. (Citation omitted). 319 Md. at 315, 572 A.2d at 506. As we discussed, supra, Respondent acknowledges that he filed a motion to suspend operation of Rule 2-507 in Sims and then failed to appear at the hearing on the matter. Likewise, in Braswell, Respondent rescheduled an original court date of 2 February 1998 and subsequently failed to appear at trial on 8 June 1998. Respondent therefore violated MRPC 8.4(d). The circumstances surrounding his failures are matters that go to the severity of the sanction. See Ficker, 319 Md. at 315, 572 A.2d at 506.