Opinion ID: 1733896
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: out-of-state proceedings serving as conclusive proof in florida disciplinary proceedings

Text: It is not entirely clear whether Kandekore is arguing that his New York conviction should not serve as conclusive proof that he committed a felony, or that his disbarment in New York based on his conviction should not serve as conclusive proof of the misconduct charged. For the reasons expressed below, we conclude that neither argument has merit. Further, we find that the felony committed by Kandekore, assault of a law enforcement officer, reflects adversely on his fitness as a lawyer, thereby violating Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 4-8.4(b).
Under Rule Regulating The Florida Bar 3-7.2(b), a conviction serves as conclusive proof of guilt of the criminal offense charged. See also R. Regulating Fla. Bar 3-7.2(i)(3) (providing that where the underlying criminal charges constitute felony charges, determinations or judgments of guilt shall ... constitute conclusive proof of the criminal offense(s) charged). This Court has held that a referee may not go behind a conviction to determine whether or not the attorney is actually guilty of the offense. The attorney may only testify as to facts which may be considered in mitigation of the sanctions to be imposed. See Florida Bar v. Vernell, 374 So.2d 473 (Fla.1979); Florida Bar v. Horne, 527 So.2d 816 (Fla.1988). Therefore, Kandekore's felony conviction must be taken as conclusive proof of the crime he is alleged to have committed, assault of a law enforcement officer, and he may not challenge the validity of his New York conviction in the instant proceedings.
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.
Accepting Kandekore's assault of a law enforcement officer as conclusively proven does not end our inquiry. We must next decide whether such conduct constitutes a criminal act that reflects adversely on Kandekore's fitness as a lawyer. See R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-8.4(b). Generally speaking, the commission of a violent crime violates rule 4-8.4(b). For example, in Florida Bar v. Schreiber, 631 So.2d 1081 (Fla.1994), based on an attorney's plea of no contest to charges that he battered his girlfriend, the Bar charged the attorney with violating rule 4-8.4(b). From the testimony given at the evidentiary hearing, the Court concluded that the Bar proved Schreiber had committed a crime of violence and that his conduct violated rule 4-8.4(b) because it affected the perception of the public that the lawyers of this state do uphold the laws. Id. at 1082. See also R. Regulating Fla. Bar 4-8.4(b) cmt. (Although a lawyer is personally answerable to the entire criminal law, a lawyer should be professionally answerable only for offenses that indicate lack of those characteristics relevant to law practice. Offenses involving violence ... are in that category. ) (emphasis added.). In this instant case, Kandekore was criminally convicted of assaulting a law enforcement officer. Further, at Kandekore's disciplinary hearing, the Bar read into the record the following testimony given at Kandekore's criminal trial by the officer who was assaulted: As I was punched in the chest and punched in the head with a closed fist, I stepped back for a second and then I pushed the driver backwards. I pushed him down to the ground and I advised him, Sir, you're under arrest. Stay on the ground. He ignored that. He got up. He attacked me a second time and again, I was able to defend myself and push him back down to the ground and again I reiterated, Sir, you're under arrest. Stay on the ground. He refused. He got up. This time he was able to get lower being I was two steps above him. He bent down, grabbed me down around my legs like a football tackle, and picked me up over his head and body-slammed me head first into the pavement. From this and other evidence presented at the Bar's disciplinary hearing, we conclude that the Bar has proven Kandekore's assault of a New York police officer was a crime of violence, and that Kandekore has violated rule 4-8.4(b).