Opinion ID: 1733896
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether an out-of-state disciplinary adjudication of guilt may serve as conclusive proof of the misconduct charged

Text: Under Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 3-4.6, when an attorney is adjudicated guilty of misconduct by the disciplinary agency of another jurisdiction, the adjudication serves as conclusive proof of commission of the misconduct charged. However, in Florida Bar v. Wilkes, 179 So.2d 193, 198 (Fla.1965), this Court noted that it is not automatically bound by an out-of-state determination of guilt by a disciplinary agency, and provided the following standard for determining whether a sister state's adjudication should be accepted as conclusive: [W]hen the accused attorney shows that the proceeding in the foreign state was so deficient or lacking in notice or opportunity to be heard, that there was such a paucity of proof, or that there was some other grave reason which would make it unjust to accept the foreign judgment as conclusive proof of guilt of the misconduct involved Florida can elect not to be bound thereby. Id. The Court expressly noted that the burden of showing why a foreign judgment should not operate as conclusive proof of guilt in a Florida disciplinary proceeding is on the accused attorney. Id. (emphasis added). The standard articulated in Wilkes was applied by this Court in Florida Bar v. Friedman, 646 So.2d 188 (Fla.1994). In Friedman, the State of New York suspended an attorney for five years for numerous violations. Id. at 189. The Florida Bar then filed a complaint against that attorney based upon the New York Bar's action. Id. In accepting the New York judgment as binding, and suspending the attorney until his reinstatement in New York, this Court noted that the burden was on Friedman to demonstrate that New York's proceedings were deficient. However, as determined by the referee, Friedman failed to meet his burden. As the referee's report indicates, Friedman was given ample opportunity before and during his disciplinary proceeding to demonstrate any inadequacies in the New York forum ... but [he] failed to do so. Id. at 190. In the instant case, Kandekore presented no evidence whatsoever at the hearing to challenge the fairness or the validity of the disciplinary proceedings in New York. Thus, as in Friedman, we conclude that Kandekore has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that New York's disciplinary proceedings were deficient. Therefore, we accept New York's disciplinary adjudication as conclusive proof of Kandekore's commission of the misconduct charged; that is, assault of a law enforcement officer. See Wilkes, 179 So.2d at 198.