Opinion ID: 2514191
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Wiederholt's witnesses

Text: Wiederholt argues that the board erroneously disregarded the testimony of his witnesses, all of whom testified favorably and put their professional reputations behind him. The bar association concedes that much of the testimony of Wiederholt's witnesses is favorable; however, it states that this evidence was not strong enough to overcome the presumption against reinstatement. The board concluded that the weight of the witnesses' testimony was insufficient to satisfy Wiederholt's high burden of proof for a number of reasons. Although his witnesses testified favorably about him in other areas, they did not have sufficient information about his moral qualifications. For example, while Wiederholt's employers were able to address his legal competency and his pastor testified to his ability to handle daily problems, they had virtually no knowledge of how he conducted himself in the practice of law or the events that led to his disbarment. Similarly, the testimony of his friends, though conveying favorable character judgments, did not reveal knowledge of the events leading to his disbarment. Consequently, the board concluded that Wiederholt's witnesses could not adequately evaluate whether Wiederholt truly had reformed. For these reasons the board did not err by discounting the testimony of Wiederholt's witnesses on the subject of moral fitness. Most jurisdictions attach considerable significance to the fact that a petitioner's witnesses do not know about the petitioner's wrongdoing and merely comment that the petitioner has moral character at the present time. [46] For example, the Oregon Supreme Court has emphasized that such statements are not determinative of the question of whether [the] applicant is likely to repeat his misconduct. [47] Courts have also suggested that witnesses should relate specific facts or instances that form the basis of their opinions. [48] We agree. While the psychiatrists testifying at the hearing both stated that Wiederholt has made significant strides in his emotional development, the board found that this improvement did not necessarily indicate that Wiederholt was morally fit to practice law or that he could handle the stresses of being a lawyer if permitted to resume that position. While we recognize that Wiederholt has made some improvement emotionally, we agree with the board's conclusion regarding the impact of the stresses of the practice of law. First, because the doctors had evaluated Wiederholt in his present work situation, where he is supervised by other lawyers and shielded from the pressures of law practice, their testimony provided no indication that Wiederholt could withstand the pressures of being a lawyer, especially a solo practitioner. Second, at the time of disbarment, psychiatrist Dr. Aaron Wolf testified that Wiederholt's dishonest acts could not be completely explained by psychological insights, and the Hearing Committee concluded that Wiederholt's actions seem[ed] unrelated to his personality disorder. Therefore, an improvement in Wiederholt's psychiatric situation, without more, does not indicate that the circumstances that led to his disbarment would not happen again. Finally, Wiederholt did not seek counseling from a mental health professional and instead opted to continue to receive informal emotional counseling from his pastor. As discussed above, given the nature of these counseling sessions, the board did not err in concluding that they had little effect in reforming Wiederholt's moral character. Wiederholt contends that the board erred in ruling against him on the moral fitness issue because the bar association did not present one witness to support its contention that he lacked the moral qualifications to practice law. But the bar association is not required to present witnesses to make out its case. [49] The burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the standards of Rule 29 are met falls on the petitioner.