Opinion ID: 1097725
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Warren Seymore Trammell is an attorney and a former district attorney and state finance director. The Alabama State Bar charged him with violating four Disciplinary Rules of the Code of Professional Responsibility. Those rules are DR 1-102(A)(4), (5), and (6), and DR 9-101(C), and they read as follows: DR 1-102Misconduct. (A) A lawyer shall not:    (4) Engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation, nor be guilty of willful misconduct. (5) Engage in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. (6) Engage in any other conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law. DR 9-101Avoiding Even the Appearance of Impropriety.    (C) A lawyer shall not state or imply that he is able to influence improperly or upon irrelevant grounds any tribunal, legislative body, or public official. These charges arose out of an investigation the Birmingham News conducted regarding allegations of illegal activity concerning paroles. The initial investigation implied that Trammell was possibly involved in a scheme to purchase paroles for inmates. The Birmingham News contacted the Attorney General's office with the information in the late spring of 1981, and the plans for a clandestine operation were set into motion. With the cooperation of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, a plan was designed to discover any illegal activity on the part of Trammell. An inmate, James Harding, allegedly told a Birmingham News reporter, Mark Winne, that Trammell was trying to illegally obtain his parole. The plan the authorities devised was to have Harding contact Trammell and arrange a meeting between the appellant and Harding's brother. In reality, Harding's brother was an undercover police agent named Timothy Kornegay. Harding arranged the meeting and Trammell met with Kornegay at the A.G. Gaston Motel in Birmingham. At their meeting, Kornegay gave Trammell money, which the Bar contends was a payment with which to bribe a member of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. In this way, Trammell would allegedly secure a parole for Harding. The essence of the Alabama State Bar's case against Trammell consisted of six tape recordings. These tapes were made without the appellant's knowledge. Three of the taped conversations were between Trammell and Harding. Two of the taped conversations were between Trammell and Alberta Perdue, Harding's mother, and the final one was the taped conversation of a meeting of the appellant with undercover agent Kornegay. On June 17, 1981, Trammell, after earlier seeing Harding in jail, met with agent Kornegay at the A.G. Gaston Motel. During portions of the meeting another undercover agent, a female detective with the Birmingham Police Department, was present in the same room with the two men. By way of hidden microphones, another police officer inside a van outside the motel recorded the conversation. At the meeting Kornegay posed as inmate Harding's out-of-town brother and he gave Trammell $1,200 in order to secure Harding's parole. The Disciplinary Board listened to all six tape recordings and also heard Trammell's testimony explaining his actions. Before Trammell took the stand, character witnesses testified on his behalf. These witnesses were allowed to give their opinion about the appellant's general reputation in the community but were prohibited from expressing an opinion about Trammell's reputation for truth and veracity. After considering the evidence, the Disciplinary Board found that Trammell had violated the Code of Professional Responsibility and ordered him disbarred. Trammell appeals that judgment.