Opinion ID: 1119933
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: petitioner's conduct warrants a private reprimand.

Text: We next review the sanction recommended by the Commission. The Commission requested this court to publicly admonish petitioner. Alaska Statute 22.30.011 does not expressly authorize public admonishment as a sanction, however. [9] Moreover, a public admonishment appears inconsistent with the Commission's expressed view that the least severe sanction is appropriate because there was only the appearance of impropriety. The Commission gave two reasons for opting for a public admonition. The Commission felt there was a need to emphasize to the public and other judges that a judge has an obligation to avoid the appearance of impropriety. The Commission also found that petitioner should be publicly cleared of any accusation of actual impropriety due to publicity about his role in the settlement. Petitioner opposes any public admonition based on such reasons and requests a private admonition if an admonition is to be administered. The appropriate rules for judicial sanctions may be drawn from the test for determining appropriate sanctions against lawyers developed by the American Bar Association, even though judges are held to a higher standard of conduct than lawyers. Judge II, 788 P.2d at 723 & n. 11; Disciplinary Matter Involving Buckalew, 731 P.2d 48, 51-52 (Alaska 1986). This court has used the ABA Standards before to organize and analyze the relevant factors to be considered in both judicial and lawyer discipline sanction cases. The ABA framework for determining appropriate sanctions is a four pronged test: 1. What ethical duty did the lawyer (judge) violate? 2. What was the lawyer's (judge's) mental state? 3. What was the extent of the actual or potential injury caused by the lawyer's (judge's) misconduct? 4. Are there any aggravating or mitigating circumstances? Judge II, 788 P.2d at 724; Buckalew, 731 P.2d at 52 (quoting ABA Standards, Theoretical Framework, reprinted in ABA/BNA Lawyers' Manual on Professional Conduct, 01:805-01:806 (1986)). The disciplining body first examines prongs 1 through 3 to determine the baseline sanction. Subsequently, the disciplining body determines whether any aggravating or mitigating circumstances justify a departure from the baseline sanction. The duty violated here was the duty of the judicial officer to avoid creating an appearance of impropriety. This duty is only indirectly addressed in the ABA Standards because the appearance of impropriety is forbidden to lawyers in only limited ways whereas it very broadly applies to judges. This is one area in which the Code of Judicial Conduct demands more of judges than the Disciplinary Rules do of lawyers. Judge II, 788 P.2d at 724. We therefore must decide for ourselves the seriousness of the violation. We do so in conjunction with addressing the third prong of the test, the amount of harm caused. We thus turn to a determination of petitioner's mental state. Specifically, we must decide whether petitioner's mental state was negligent, or purposeful and knowing. Id. Negligence is a failure to be aware of a substantial risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, which failure is a deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable lawyer would exercise in the situation. Id. (quoting ABA Standards, Definitions, ABA/BNA 1:807). Here the record fails to clearly and convincingly prove a knowing or purposeful state of mind. It does reflect a negligent one, however. Petitioner failed to be aware of a substantial risk that his actions could result in a reasonably objective person believing that an impropriety was afoot. Next we address the actual or potential harm caused by the violation. Judge II performed a lengthy analysis of these two types of harm. We give the Judge II analysis great deference. In Judge II, the court found no actual harm even though the judge had made an unreasonable attempt to issue himself a reduced fare airplane ticket through a defunct airline. The court found no actual or significant harm because the potential difference in ticket price was only $20.60. The court recognized, however, that other harm was foreseeable from the judge's continued possession of a validating plate and blank stock. Id. at 724-25. Accepting the analysis of Judge II, we do not find any actual harm here because the Governor did not do petitioner any favors after the meeting. We clearly find that potential harm could result from the undermining of the public's confidence in the judiciary, however. We find therefore that the violation is moderately serious even though no actual harm resulted. Accordingly, we find using the first three parts of the test above that the appropriate baseline sanction here is a private reprimand. Our conclusion is supported by the ABA sanction philosophy that has been commented on by this court before. Id. at 726. This sanction philosophy suggests that [w]here the violation, whatever its nature, involves only negligent conduct which occasions little injury, the recommended sanction is admonition, or private reprimand. Id. at 725. We follow the Judge II application of the baseline sanction of private reprimand for a violation involving the same mental state and degree of injury. We note that public admonishments generally are administered only in cases involving blatant violations of the Code of Judicial Canons, according to cases from other jurisdictions. See Gubler v. Commission on Judicial Performance, 37 Cal.3d 27, 207 Cal. Rptr. 171, 688 P.2d 551 (1984) (wrongful attorney fee collecting practices against criminal defendants, doubling attorney fees imposed on defendant represented by public defender, authorizing release of confiscated guns for sale by defendants); In re Hayes, 541 So.2d 105 (Fla. 1989) (judge's discussions with journalist of progress of murder trial on multiple occasions knowing journalist would use material); In re Ford, 404 Mass. 347, 535 N.E.2d 225 (1989) (judge serving as CEO of nonprofit corporation while serving as a judge); In re Kiley, 74 N.Y.2d 364, 547 N.Y.S.2d 623, 546 N.E.2d 916 (1989) (lending and appearing to lend the prestige of office to advance private interests of criminal defendants); In re Derrick, 301 S.C. 367, 392 S.E.2d 180 (1990) (conviction of crime of moral turpitude based on breach of trust with fraudulent intent); In re Pearson, 299 S.C. 499, 386 S.E.2d 249 (1989) (referring to another person as a nigger lover). Petitioner's conduct does not rise to the level of severity of the conduct in these other cases. The ABA Standards are designed to promote consistency in discipline. ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions, ABA/BNA 01:801-01:804. We find that the reasoning of Judge II applies well to the case before the court, and therefore we conclude that a private reprimand is the appropriate baseline sanction. Finally we consider whether this private reprimand should be subject to increase or decrease depending upon the presence of aggravating or mitigating factors. Judge II, 788 P.2d at 725. We use the aggravating and mitigating factors set out by the ABA Standards. [10] We find five mitigating factors in this case. There is an absence of prior disciplinary proceedings, petitioner has cooperated with the disciplinary process although he does not admit wrongdoing, petitioner has asserted he subsequently divested himself of his business interest before the press reported the matter and in fact took a loss in so doing, the petitioner has an excellent reputation, and there was a delay in the initiation of disciplinary proceedings. We find two aggravating factors. There was selfish motive on petitioner's part at the time, and he has had substantial experience in the practice of law. We find there should be no departure from the baseline sanction, after balancing the applicable mitigating and aggravating factors and upon review of the sanctions imposed by other courts. We have weighed most heavily among the aggravating factors petitioner's substantial experience in the practice of law. We take particular note with respect to the three letters sent to Evans. Petitioner should have realized that these materials could come to the attention of the public and therefore harm the judiciary, even if he meant no harm by them. This aggravating factor is offset by the mitigating factors of timely effort to rectify consequences, the lack of actual harm from the conduct and petitioner's continued excellent reputation. Additionally, there was nearly a two-year delay between the conduct in question and the bringing of charges by the Commission, with petitioner's conduct remaining above reproach throughout. A private reprimand best serves the paramount concern of protection of the public, the courts, and the legal profession. Buckalew, 731 P.2d at 56.