Opinion ID: 297983
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Disbarment Proceedings.

Text: 15 In September 1959, O'Bryan filed a motion in the bankruptcy proceedings for reconsideration of his claim and restoration of his name to the role of admitted attorneys. This motion was denied by Judge Chandler; O'Bryan appealed and his appeal was dismissed as untimely. O'Bryan, O'Bryan & O'Bryan v. Harrison, 274 F.2d 831 (10th Cir. 1959). 16 In June 1963, the Oklahoma Supreme Court rendered its decision on O'Bryan's disbarment based on the public hearings held in March 1959. It concluded that the charges were true and ordered him disbarred. State v. O'Bryan, 385 P.2d 876 (Okl.1963), app. dismissed, 376 U.S. 649, 84 S.Ct. 983, 11 L.Ed.2d 980 (1964). 17 In July 1963, O'Bryan filed an original action in madamus in the Tenth Circuit against Judge Chandler, seeking to have the order disbarring him set aside. This was denied on the grounds that he could pursue the usual remedies available to him in the district court. O'Bryan thereupon, in September 1963, filed a motion to vacate the disbarment order in the district court. No action was taken on this motion, and in January 1966, O'Bryan filed another mandamus action in the Court of Appeals seeking action on his motion to vacate. In October 1966, the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ordered Judge Chandler to assign the motion to vacate to another judge for hearing and disposition. 18 The proceedings were assigned to Judge Edwin Langley, of the Eastern District of Oklahoma, who on March 28, 1967, entered an order denying the motion. O'Brien appealed on July 18, 1967, alleging that Langley's order was entered without a hearing as required by the prior Tenth Circuit order. On December 29, 1967, the Tenth Circuit reversed Judge Langley's order, holding that a proper hearing had not been accorded O'Bryan. Judge Chandler thereupon filed a Motion to Clarify, which was treated as a petition for rehearing, in which he contended that O'Bryan's appeal from the order of Judge Langley was untimely. After hearing oral argument, the Tenth Circuit withdrew its order and dismissed the appeal as untimely. In re O'Bryan, 399 F.2d 916 (10th Cir. 1968), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 906, 89 S.Ct. 1014, 22 L.Ed.2d 217 (1969). 19 In 1968, the United States Treasury Department refused to disbar O'Bryan on these charges, and in 1970 the Oklahoma Supreme Court refused to reinstate him. Apparently his certification as a public accountant has not been withdrawn. 20