Opinion ID: 1943936
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Characterizing the Memorandum of Understanding

Text: As a preliminary matter, we note that both the Board and Bar Counsel used words in a manner inconsistent with their ordinary meaning throughout these proceedings. Bar Counsel urged that claims that it was presenting to the hearing committee be deemed dismissed. The Board directed Bar Counsel to prosecute claims that already had been presented to the hearing committee. The Board discerned a plea bargain where nothing had been bargained for. We reject this terminology and will adhere to common legal usage. A dismissal is the [t]ermination of an action... without further hearing. BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 482 (7th ed.1999). To prosecute is to carry out a legal action. Id. at 1237. A plea bargain is a negotiated agreement in which a party pleads guilty to a lesser offense or to one of multiple charges in exchange for some concession by the prosecutor, usually a more lenient sentence or a dismissal of the other charges. Id. at 1173. This clarification of terms settles the principal issue raised by this case. The Board contends that Bar Counsel exceeded its authority because it had no power to dismiss certain charges through a plea bargain or negotiated disposition. We cannot agree, because we perceive no true dismissal or plea bargain in Bar Counsel's actions. Bar Counsel presented all fifteen counts to the hearing committee, the Board and this court, and included them in his recommended sanction. If any of the counts were not taken into account in the sanction imposed as part of this proceeding, Bar Counsel retained the authority to prosecute them separately. The memorandum also made clear that all fifteen charges could be raised if Kitchings were to petition for reinstatement. Moreover, Kitchings was given no form of leniency  Bar Counsel recommended a sanction that it deemed appropriate for all fifteen violations. The hearing committee concurred in that assessment, and the Board has never contended that Bar Counsel's recommended sanction would be inappropriate had all charges been formally prosecuted. The purpose of the memorandum was not to reduce Kitchings's penalties, but, by its terms, to allow him to avoid the cost of litigation. [4] Because we do not consider that the memorandum is a plea bargain or negotiated settlement, we need not reach the scope of Bar Counsel's authority to engage in such agreements. [5]