Opinion ID: 2092803
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Board's initial Report and Recommendation.

Text: On July 2, 1998, the Board issued a unanimous Report and Recommendation [7] in which, like the Hearing Committee, it recommended disbarment. The Board adopted the Hearing Committee's findings with respect to the historical events and its description of Marshall's conduct, but concluded, contrary to the Hearing Committee's findings, that Marshall had failed to establish a causal connection between Marshall's addiction and his conduct. [8] The Board was of the opinion, in particular, that Marshall's fabrication of evidence had not been shown to have been substantially caused by his abuse of cocaine. Because Marshall had failed to satisfy Kersey's second prong, the Board found it unnecessary to decide whether the principles of Kersey should be applied in cases of addiction to an unlawful drug such as cocaine. In light of its conclusion as to causation, the Board declined to reopen the record for further evidence on the issue of rehabilitation. Instead, the Board recommended that Marshall be disbarred.