Opinion ID: 2274000
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: trustworthiness, public trust, and good moral character.

Text: The Committee made very specific findings indicating why it did not believe Burns exhibited the requisite moral character to practice law and engender public trust and confidence in members of the bar, especially noting Burns's lack of candor and the inconsistency in his testimony regarding substance abuse and violent behavior: The most damaging factor the Committee considered with regard to Mr. Burns'[s] character is his lack of candor. As summarized above, in his testimony before the Committee he repeatedly maintained that he was only guilty of crossing state lines with money he knew to be stolen and planning to file a fraudulent lawsuit. Only after intense cross-examination did he admit to the Committee what he admitted in Federal Court, that he committed multiple acts with his co-conspirators in furtherance of the fake accident and fraudulent personal injury claims. Mr. Burns'[s] hearing testimony regarding violent behavior was inconsistent and lacking in truthfulness. After denying the occurrence of domestic violence in his marriage to Asonia Burns, he then said he might have slapped her one time. Afterward, he attempted to correct his testimony to say that he could have been violent with her in a drunken stupor. Mr. Burns also exhibited a lack of candor regarding his problems with alcohol. Under cross-examination, he admitted to the Committee that he was not truthful regarding his drinking habits to Judge Eugene Siler at the hearing when he pled guilty to the crimes of mail fraud and receiving stolen money. He told Judge Siler that he was never a big drinker and would only take a social drink. His testimony at the July 1, 2009[,] hearing regarding alcohol use was inconsistent and, at times, less than truthful. He claimed to have abused alcohol only during the period about three years before he was arrested; and only because of physical pain. Several witnesses were asked to verify that he drank alcohol in excess because of severe pain and only in the three years before he was arrested; however, the Committee heard no support for that claim. He first testified that he had only one drink after he was released from prison; and only under cross-examination by the Committee did he admit to some very slight drinking after prison before quitting entirely. Other evidence, however, indicates a much more serious alcohol abuse problem. For example, in 2005, Roy Campbell commented to the Committee's investigator about his and Mr. Burns'[s] drinking habits, yet Mr. Burns denied that they ever drank alcohol together; and his daughter told the investigator that when he started drinking again after prison, he was physically abusive toward her mother. Even Mr. Burns, at one time in his testimony, said he would take his ex-wife's word as to any violence because he was a real drunk. Because of his inconsistent and untruthful testimony, the Committee cannot be certain as to whether or not Mr. Burns continues to abuse alcohol and whether or not he continues to commit acts of violence. At the very least, he has not been candid with the Committee. In addition to lack of candor and inconsistency regarding his alcohol consumption, the Committee also noted evidence that Burns had not participated in KYLAP and otherwise did not seem to be sincerely and actively pursuing treatment for apparent alcoholism: During cross-examination, Mr. Burns denied that he is an alcoholic . . . and stated that he has never participated in KYLAP because he has not needed to. . . . He repeated that he took a very extensive course in Triple A (AAA) [presumably an attempted reference to Alcoholics Anonymous] furnished by the United States Bureau of Prison and taught in it and counseled in it for months. . . . He explained what it means to be an instructor by saying, you have to stand up and first you say, I'm a drunkard. I'm a drunk. I'm an alcoholic and all that bull.. . . . Randall Ratliff, Director of KYLAP[,] testified that participants in Alcoholics Anonymous do not graduate and that AA does not utilize anyone as an instructor.... He stated that the 12th Step in AA is to carry the message to other people, which is an essential part of one's own personal recovery. . . . Mr. Ratliff testified that, to his knowledge, Mr. Burns has never contacted KYLAP or participated in its program. The Committee also noted that Burns admitted to giving several different addresses on various documents while divorce proceedings in which proper venue was a hotly contested issue were pending, beginning around the year 2000, which was several years after he was released from federal prison.