Court Opinion

ID: 9792159
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:24:16.584853+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:40.810552
License: Public Domain

ZLAKET, Chief Justice,
specially concurring.
While I share Justice Feldman’s frustration with the recommendation of the Disciplinary Commission, I cannot agree that this court should “up the ante” in terms of the sanction to be imposed. No other type of legal proceeding requires a party to appeal at his or her peril. Not even the perpetrator of a vile and unimaginable crime faces the risk of an increased sentence when seeking relief from a higher court. I therefore believe that we must be extremely cautious in our use of this extraordinary power.
The Wade decision, with which I have more than a little familiarity, does not support the dissent’s position. There we said:
The record demonstrates that the hearing committee was unaware of respondent’s prior disciplinary matter, which was still pending when the findings in this case were made. The Disciplinary Commission was aware of the earlier matter, but did not consider it in aggravation because it was not yet final. We are not so constrained, and believe that our consideration of the previous disciplinary proceeding is essential to a proper disposition here.
174 Ariz. at 17, 846 P.2d at 830.
In the present case, however, all aggravating factors were known and considered by the Disciplinary Commission when it rendered its decision. Though I might have come to a different conclusion, I am prepared to defer to its recommendation. In the Matter of Wolfram, 174 Ariz. 49, 52, 58-59, 847 P.2d 94, 97, 103-04 (1993).