Court Opinion

ID: 9759229
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 00:09:33.988577+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:29:00.363938
License: Public Domain

SCHREIBER, J.,
dissenting.
Not many years ago Justice Pashman wrote in In re Sears, 71 N.J. 175, 201-02 (1976):
We observe finally that the judicial role in disciplinary matters demands our utmost sensitivity to the purpose which we serve. We have no great zeal to impose sanctions on individuals for disciplinary infractions. Our foremost concern is to guarantee that members of the bar represent the interests of their clients in keeping with the public trust. Thus, we must weigh the likelihood of future violations, as well as the seriousness of proven transgressions, in imposing discipline. Such judgments, by their very nature, rest on assessments of individual character. Therefore, we will not subscribe to a policy controlling future cases without knowledge of the facts which may arise in those cases. We previously stated that “each case must rest largely upon its own particular circumstances.” In re Greenberg, 21 N.J. 213, 225 (1956). See also In re Abrams, 65 N.J. 172, 179 (1974); In re Baron, 25 N.J. 445, 449 (1957).
Compliance with those sentiments would not lead to the result reached this day. The Court today has created a disciplinary sanction rule calling for disbarment irrespective of the particu*40lar circumstances of the case. See supra at 37. Yet there is no likelihood of a future transgression by this respondent and, keeping in mind the purpose of the judicial role in disciplinary matters, I believe disbarment is not warranted.
It has often been stated, and the majority agrees, that the primary purpose of professional discipline is to protect the public from irresponsible members of the bar. If that be the essential objective, then it is necessary to determine what sanction is needed to protect the public: private reprimand, public reprimand, suspension or disbarment. We therefore look to the nature of the wrongdoing to see what remedial device is appropriate.
Our jurisdiction is derived from the constitutional provision that the “Supreme Court shall have jurisdiction over the admission to the practice of law and the discipline of persons admitted.” N.J.Const. (1947), Art. VI, § 2, par. 3. The core of our disciplinary authority deals with the action or inaction of the individual as an attorney, be it with a client or the court.
Analysis of the wrongdoing in this framework may properly begin then with an examination of the extent to which the misconduct demonstrates that the attorney might potentially inflict harm on a client. When the wrongdoing is directly related to and strikes at the heart of the attorney-client relationship, such as misuse of a client’s funds, the connection between the attorney’s transgression and the need for future protection of the public is clear. When the wrongdoing is not directly related to that relationship, however, its effect on the practice of the law and the needed public protection in that respect is more attenuated. In those circumstances we should be, and have until now been, more sensitive to the mitigating circumstances in determining the proper discipline.
Any violation of the law creates some question about the trust and confidence that the public may reasonably be expected to repose in an attorney. No matter what the violation, some discipline may be needed to deter both the attorney involved and *41other members of the bar. Violation of the law may involve such egregious conduct or be so inimical to the integrity of the judicial system that the Court should apply the extreme sanction of disbarment.
Whether disbarment is the appropriate discipline depends on both the nature of the crime and the mitigating elements. In a close case, like this one, our major concern should be to determine whether the public may in the future trust the respondent in dealings with him as a member of the bar. Is he likely to repeat the misconduct or to commit other wrongs? Is his future conduct likely to harm any clients?
The respondent’s conduct here does not suggest an unethical or criminal bent. Rather, it was aberrational. Respondent sought to preserve the memory of his father’s professional reputation and to protect his mother’s feelings by sparing her the mortification that would follow a revelation of his father’s misdeeds. Such motives are not to be equated with ordinary venality or greed. They do not suggest a common or predictable weakness in the face of temptation. Nor do they necessarily suggest a want of professional fortitude likely to manifest itself in any other situation. Furthermore, he injured no client. Hence, the essential integrity and loyalty that the profession expects of attorneys in dealings with clients are not impugned here. If anything, the integrity of the bar was enhanced by his voluntarily reimbursing his father’s clients approximately $40,-000.
The Court for the first time in this case has decided that an episode involving bribery of a public official and forgery of a document, unrelated to an attorney-client matter, is an automatic cause for disbarment irrespective of mitigating factors. It does so because this act “so severely damage[s] public confidence in the legal system.” See supra at 39. The majority draws heavily on the analogy of stealing a client’s funds, the subject of In re Wilson, 81 N.J. 451 (1979), in which the Court prescribed practically a per se rule calling for disbarment when an attorney *42misappropriates a client’s funds. I submit that the Hughes’ situation is not as egregious as that in Wilson, which involved an attorney-client relationship. Moreover, the Wilson rule has not been applied retroactively.
Numerous cases have been decided while I have been a member of this Court that had a much greater impact upon public confidence in the legal system and that have not resulted in disbarment. The majority has referred to three such cases. In re Sears, supra, involved false swearing and perjury before a grand jury, a secret $200,000 cash contribution to the Nixon campaign in return for assistance with respect to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and improperly representing to a client that an attempt had been made to influence a judge. Justice Sullivan in his dissent summarized the situation succinctly: “To put it plainly, respondent is guilty of deliberate attempts to corrupt the processes of government.” 71 N.J. at 204-05. Sears was suspended for three years. In In re Stout, 75 N.J. 321 (1978), a conversion of $40,000 of clients’ funds for more than three years resulted in a one year suspension. In In re Mirabelli, 79 N.J. 597 (1979), the attorney pled guilty to bribing an Assistant Prosecutor to procure a non-custodial sentence for a client. There was a three year suspension.
High ethical standards for the bar are- unquestionably salutary. Perhaps inexorable application of the extreme sanction of disbarment may help maintain those standards. Yet we must not forget that disbarment is a punishment and its effect can be devastating. In re Ruffalo, 390 U.S. 544, 550, 88 S.Ct. 1222, 1226, 20 L.Ed.2d 117, 122 reh. den. 391 U.S. 961, 88 S.Ct. 1833, 20 L.Ed.2d 874 (1968). In deciding whether to disbar, the Court should consider the whole person. Justice should be tempered with mercy. The Prophet Micah explained that human duty toward our fellow man requires us to act justly and to love mercy. Micah 6:8. I for one believe that compassion and understanding should also be brought to bear before destroying the professional life of this young attorney. He did no wrong to any client and he acted out of the highest motives for his *43parents. His contrition is sincere and he poses no danger to the public. When is compassion appropriate if not here? Disbarment is too harsh. I dissent.
Justice O’HERN joins in this opinion.
For disbarment—Chief Justice WILENTZ and Justices PASHMAN, HANDLER and POLLOCK—4.
Dissenting—Justices SCHREIBER and O’HERN—2.
ORDER
It is ORDERED that JOHN E. HUGHES, JR., of Cedar Grove be disbarred and that his name be stricken from the roll of attorneys of this State, effective immediately; and it is further
ORDERED that JOHN E. HUGHES, Jr., be and hereby is permanently restrained and enjoined from practicing law; and it is further
ORDERED that respondent reimburse the Administrative Office of the Courts for appropriate administrative costs, including production of transcripts; and it is further
ORDERED that respondent comply with all the regulations of the Disciplinary Review Board governing suspended, disbarred or resigned attorneys.