Court Opinion

ID: 9804856
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 17:15:36.509498+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T10:21:25.193540
License: Public Domain

McDONALD, J.,
concurring.
This is one of those cases where no good deed goes unpunished. Bar Counsel attempts to put a face on a cold record of default and the defaulter prevails. The hearing judge conscientiously sifts the evidence provided, making the credibility determinations on which we normally rely, and that effort is found unnecessary. I concur in the Court’s disposition and write simply to make a suggestion.
The Majority opinion provides, in footnotes 17 and 26, some helpful advice to Bar Counsel and hearing judges on how to deal with situations, not uncommon, in which an attorney accused of misconduct fails to respond to the charges. Perhaps it is worth incorporating some of that good advice in our rules or in the standard referral order to hearing judges to make it more readily accessible than a Westlaw search.