Opinion ID: 1901924
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: report and recommendation of the board of professional responsibility

Text: This is a reciprocal discipline case, which the Court of Appeals referred to the Board following the imposition of discipline by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. We determined, pursuant to D.C.Bar R. XI § 18(5), that the matter should be referred to a hearing committee. This case now comes before the Board following the report of Hearing Committee No. 8. Respondent was charged with violations of DR 6-101(A)(3) (neglecting a legal matter entrusted to him); DR 2-110(B)(3) (failing to withdraw from representation when his mental or physical condition rendered it unreasonably difficult for respondent to carry out his employment effectively); and DR 1-102(A)(5) (engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice). The charges were based on Respondent's filing three notices of appeals in the Fourth Circuit in the first half of 1988 and thereafter failing to adequately prosecute them. A hearing was held on July 9, 1990 and concluded on October 16, 1990. The Hearing Committee found that Respondent had neglected three matters entrusted to him, in violation of DR 6-101(A)(3), and had engaged in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, in violation of DR 1-102(A)(5). The Committee found that there was insufficient evidence to establish a violation of DR 2-110(B)(3) (failing to withdraw despite a debilitating physical or mental condition) (Hearing Committee Report (Report) at 6-10). The Committee recommended that Respondent be publicly censured (Report at 13). The Hearing Committee's findings and recommendation are based on the following facts: Between April and June of 1988, Respondent filed in the Fourth Circuit notices of appeal in the three cases at issue here. On April 8, 1988, Respondent filed a notice of appeal in United States v. Jan M. Brooks, and was directed on May 10, 1988 to file a counsel of record form, an attorney admission or registration form, a docketing statement, and a transcript order (if needed) within ten days. Thereafter, the court issued a briefing order on August 11, 1988 that directed Respondent to file his brief and appendix no later than September 15, 1988. The court then sent a follow-up letter again directing Respondent to file a counsel of record form and docketing statement. Respondent never filed any of these documents, including the brief (Report at 3-4). Respondent filed a notice of appeal in United States v. Lawrence Michael Branch on May 20, 1988. On July 6, 1988 the clerk directed him to file a docketing statement and transcript order, as well as a counsel of record form and an attorney admission or registration statement within ten days. Once again, Respondent failed to file any of the required information (Report at 3). On June 29, 1988, Respondent filed a notice in United States v. Kevin Von Spivey, appealing a district court judgment denying Mr. Spivey pre-trial release. The appeal was docketed on July 8, 1988, and Respondent was directed to file a memorandum in support of the bail appeal within seven days and a counsel of record form along with an attorney admission or registration record form within ten days. Subsequently, despite several requests from the court, Respondent failed to file the memorandum in support of the appeal and failed to file an attorney registration form (Report at 3). As a result of these failures to file the required documents, on December 12, 1988, the court issued an order directing Respondent to show cause why he should not be disciplined for his failure to comply with federal appellate procedures and with the court's operating procedures and instructions. Respondent did not respond to the order, and the court suspended him from practice for one year and fined him $1,000.00 (Report at 4). Respondent did not dispute that he missed those filings, but claimed that he did so because of his deteriorating physical condition. Debra Jones, a registered nurse who had reviewed respondent's medical records, testified that Respondent first saw a Dr. Osbourne on May 26, 1988, complaining of fatigue (Hearing Transcript, July 9, 1990 (Tr. 1), at 18). Dr. Osbourne conducted a series of laboratory tests, but because he was unable to make a certain diagnosis and because Respondent returned on June 2 still complaining of fatigue and fever, he referred Respondent to Dr. Pistole (Tr. 1 at 20). Dr. Pistole apparently saw Respondent during the months of June and early July (Tr. 1 at 21). Respondent then saw a Dr. Primack on July 26, and Dr. Primack decided that there was a need for a bone marrow aspiration to see whether there was a problem with lymphoma, a type of cancer (Tr. 1 at 21). Respondent was diagnosed with leukemia sometime at the end of July, (Tr. 1 at 26) and on August 1, he began to receive the drug alpha interferon, which often causes flu-like symptoms as a side effect (Tr. 1 at 69). Before the alpha interferon, nothing was given to Respondent that might have affected his energy level, other than an antibiotic that might have caused slight tiring (Tr. 1 at 70). Respondent continued to lose weight and become more fatigued, so on September 24, he began to take prednisone to combat his lack of energy (Tr. 1 at 69). [1] During this entire period, none of his doctors ever told him to discontinue his law practice (Tr. 1 at 90). On October 28, during the Spivey trial, Respondent experienced some disorientation in court. While the trial was in recess, he saw Dr. Primack and was prescribed prednisone. On November 2, he fell into a coma and was taken to the hospital, where he remained for the month of November, often in a very confused and aggressive state (Tr. 1 at 92-93). Robert E. Ratner, M.D. testified that the symptoms from which Respondent suffered from January through November, 1988, suggested that Respondent may have been suffering from diabetes. [2] However, he had not examined Respondent personally, and he declined to say that Dr. Primack had misdiagnosed Respondent's condition (Tr. 2 at 34). He testified that a person with diabetes would suffer from cognitive dysfunction that would grow progressively worse as glucose levels in the patient rose, but that dysfunction could vary depending on what the patient ate on any given day (Tr. 2 at 46). He noted that prednisone would worsen the patient's condition (Tr. 2 at 27-28). Dr. Ratner testified, however, that he could not make a judgment as to the degree of impairment that Respondent was suffering since he did not examine Respondent himself (Tr. 2 at 44). He could only say that the disorder progresses over time as glucose levels rise. This progression is gradual until the glucose levels reach a very high threshold, and then there is a rapid progression (Tr. 2 at 37). He testified that, despite the condition, a person could function and get through the activities of daily life, including employment (Tr. 2 at 37). He also testified that a person who exhibited the symptoms that Respondent exhibited in November could have been functioning at a normal cognitive level six months previous to that time (Tr. 2 at 45). Respondent testified that during the period of January through November, he grew progressively weaker (Tr. 1 at 87). He recalled how upset he was when the doctors told him that he had leukemia, but he said that he was hopeful and that he constantly called the Fourth Circuit clerk's office to try and buy time until his recovery (Tr. 1 at 104). However, he never did officially communicate with the Fourth Circuit in writing about his health problems (Tr. 1 at 134). He also admitted that he was fully aware of his responsibilities to his clients and to the Fourth Circuit concerning the appeals, and that he failed to fulfill many of these responsibilities (Tr. 1 at 111, 113-119, 122-23, 126-28). He justified his failures to comply by pointing to his physical problems, and he added that, the last thing on my mind was worrying about filing some paper with the Fourth Circuit when I was told I was suffering from hairy cell leukemia ... (Tr. 1 at 128). Severely undermining Respondent's contention that his physical condition precluded him from fulfilling his obligations was his testimony that, during the same time period, he was regularly performing more onerous tasks. He testified that he taught a law school class through May. He resumed teaching two classes in September, four days a week, and he attended class on a regular basis (Tr. 1 at 110). He further testified that between May and November he maintained an active law practice. His activities included: defending a client in a criminal trial on May 4, which resulted in acquittal (Tr. 1 at 106); defending a client at trial May 10, which resulted in a hung jury (Tr. 1 at 107); representing a client in a motion hearing on May 13 (Tr. 1 at 107); arguing a motion for reconsideration on May 23 (Tr. 1 at 124); representing a client on May 25 in a Pennsylvania criminal trial, which resulted in conviction on a lesser offense (Tr. 1 at 107); getting a case dismissed in Superior Court in early June (Tr. 1 at 108); trials on June 3 and June 13 (Tr. 1 at 108); submitting on June 15 a motion for revocation of detention order, accompanied by a 15-page memorandum containing sophisticated legal and factual arguments (Tr. 1 at 126); defending a client at trial on July 1 in which the jury convicted his client, but in which he was able to get the conviction set aside in the interest of justice (Tr. 1 at 108-109); participating in a multi-day trial from September 26-28 in which his representation was so skillful that his client was acquitted (Tr. 1 at 119); and preparing for the Spivey trial with his client (Tr. 1 at 138). The Hearing Committee found that, during the period from April to September, 1988, Respondent's conduct constituted neglect and conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. The Committee acknowledged that Respondent was hospitalized and was physically unable to fulfill his responsibilities from November 3-19, 1988, and it made clear that it did not even consider any events occurring after September 1988 (Report at 8). It found that before his hospitalization, however, Respondent received notice of and understood every requirement of the appeals process and that he showed a knowing, willful and conscious indifference for the interest of his three clients. The Committee concluded that Respondent's illness did not prevent him from processing the appeals. Because Respondent's illness should not have prevented him from fulfilling his responsibilities in the Fourth Circuit cases, the Committee found that the evidence was insufficient to show that Respondent violated DR 2-110(B)(3) by failing to withdraw from representation. Having found violations, the Hearing Committee considered aggravating and mitigating factors to determine the sanction to be imposed. As aggravating factors, it considered that Respondent had twice before been informally admonished for ethical violations, and that in this case, even after being restored to health, Respondent did not recognize the extent of his poor judgment during the relevant time period (Report at 11). As mitigating factors, the Committee considered that none of Respondent's clients were substantially prejudiced by his inadequate assistance, and that he was indeed becoming progressively less well during the relevant period while taking medication that would have reduced his physical stamina (Report at 12).