Court Opinion

ID: 9569118
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:10:43.817904+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:20:36.624866
License: Public Domain

Callow, J.
(concurring) — I concur in the result. Under RLD 9.1 a petition for reinstatement may not be filed within a period of 3 years after disbarment. That period of time has passed and the petitioner is permitted to apply for readmission under the rule. However, while mechanistic rules often work injustices in specific situations, I submit that the rule specifies too short a time between disbarment and a petition for readmission for this court to objectively evaluate whether an applicant has been rehabilitated. Rehabilitation means, among other things, that the applicant — when faced with similar temptations to those which caused previous violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct — will stand up to those temptations and not perform dishonest acts again. Certainly the evaluation of whether a disbarred lawyer has so changed his character as to be certifiable as meeting the standards appropriate to perform the responsibilities of an officer of the courts of the state is a nebulous and uncertain duty.
The order recommending against reinstatement of the petitioner stated in part:
1. John M. Rosellini has demonstrated that his general character, standing and professional reputation in the community in which he practiced prior to disbarment, namely, Seattle, King County, Washington, was good.
2. Mr. Rosellini was sincere, frank, and truthful in his presentation and discussion of the factors relating to his disbarment and potential reinstatement.
3. It is unlikely that John M. Rosellini, as a practicing attorney, would in the future engage in trust account violations similar to those which led to his disbarment.
4. Despite his general good character, standing and reputation in his community prior to disbarment, John M. Rosellini did not, in his practice of law and prior to his disbarment, observe and maintain the high ethical standards expected and required of an attorney at law and officer of the court, as demonstrated by the facts which led to his disbarment. The nature of the trust account violations involved, as noted more fully in Find*366ing of Fact 5, infra, is among the most serious and severe transgressions of those ethical standards.
5. The offenses for which Mr. Rosellini was disbarred were extremely serious, involved severe transgressions of his professional and fiduciary duties as an attorney, and in the opinion of the Board are of such a nature as to militate against reinstatement, at least at this time. The record is clear as to the frequency of the trust account violations involved and the fact that those violations were serious and intentional. The record is also clear that Mr. Rosellini compounded his violation of his duty to the public and to the Bar by falsely and knowingly alleging that his trust account was properly maintained and filing a sworn statement to that effect with the State Bar Association.
6. The time elapsed since Mr. Rosellini’s disbarment is insufficient to justify the granting of this Petition for Reinstatement. The Court in In re Walgren, 104 Wn.2d 557 (1985), stated that "the sufficiency of time determination is made by weighing the nature of the offense against the time which has elapsed subsequent to disbarment: and that "a disbarred attorney should not be reinstated until sufficient time has elapsed to enable him to actually demonstrate by conduct that he is, in fact, worthy of trust and confidence." John M. Rosellini was disbarred on May 20, 1982. While there is no absolute time period set for reinstatement in such a case, insufficient time has passed in this particular case, and in view of the nature of the offense, for Mr. Rosellini to establish that, as an attorney, he is in fact worthy of public trust and confidence. The Board in fact finds that such has not been demonstrated or established.
The standards proposed by the American Bar Association in this area are as follows:
Disbarment — Readmission. The court has exclusive power to readmit a disbarred lawyer.
The lawyer should not be able to apply for readmission until at least five years after the effective date of disbarment and should not be readmitted unless he can show by clear and convincing evidence: rehabilitation, fitness to practice, competence and compliance with all applicable discipline or disability orders and rules.
American Bar Ass'n Joint Comm, on Professional Disci*367pline, Professional Discipline for Lawyers and Judges (1979).
I agree with the approach of the American Bar Association rule. I concur in the result because a period of 5 years has now gone by and the major basis for denial of readmission, as set forth by the Board of Governors, was that insufficient time had passed since disbarment. As stated by the majority, the requirement that time elapse after disbarment before an application for readmission can be filed exists to postpone reinstatement until the attorney has demonstrated conduct worthy of trust and confidence. An application for readmission should not be permitted until at least 5 years has elapsed since disbarment. To my mind 3 years is insufficient time for an applicant for readmission to demonstrate that a misuse of client funds will not happen again.
The majority of the members of the Board of Governors stated that the length of time that had expired since the petitioner had been disbarred was insufficient for a proper evaluation to be made as to rehabilitation and qualification to practice law. One member (with whom two others concurred) stated:
In light of the seriousness of the offenses . . . and doubts about his rehabilitation, four to five years of disbarment is not sufficient.
Another said:
I do not feel that sufficient time has elapsed to enable the applicant to demonstrate that he is, in fact, worthy of trust and confidence. The time that has elapsed is brief when compared to other cases involving lawyers who were disbarred for trust account violations.
And, yet another stated:
I do not believe that sufficient time has elapsed that I can say that public confidence in the legal system would be maintained if John Rosellini were to be reinstated at this time.
Lastly, another said:
*368Regarding the nature of the offense, the "sufficiency of time determination is made by weighing the nature of offense against the time which has elapsed subsequent to disbarment." ... In recent years, however, where the character and nature of the offense has involved trust account violations, the time between suspension and reinstatement has been longer. In re Batali, 98 Wn.2d 610, 657 P.2d 775 (1983) (8 years); In re Johnson, 92 Wn.2d 349, 597 P.2d 113 (1979) (11 years).
A number of these members of the Board of Governors expressed doubts as to whether the petitioner had yet demonstrated an appreciation of the standards of conduct required of an attorney and a concern about their ability, in so relatively short a time, to put their stamp of approval on the petitioner. The rule permitting an application for readmission should not specify only a 3-year period when the result is an almost unanimous conclusion by experienced and respected members of the bar that the time period is too short to tell whether a person who acted dishonestly will now practice law with integrity and according to the Rules of Professional Conduct. I do not reiterate the findings of the Board or the individual statements of its members to rehash the circumstances pertaining to the particular petitioner involved here. I set forth those findings and statements because they excellently illustrate the reason for extending the time period for all applicants for readmission. When doubt remains, reinstatement should be denied. In re Eddleman, 77 Wn.2d 42, 43, 459 P.2d 387, 461 P.2d 9 (1969). RLD 9.1(a) should be amended to require the passage of 5 years between disbarment and application for readmission.
It has been said that each denial of readmission in the past has been based on an identifiable failure to demonstrate rehabilitation. I submit that rehabilitation cannot be demonstrated or judged until the perspective of time permits a proper appraisal of character. I submit that human experience demonstrates and the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association has concluded that 3 years is not enough.
*369The handwriting of the majority is on the wall. I concur in the result rather than engage in pointless dissent in an attempt to have the provisions of RLD 9.1 objectively reconsidered by the bench and bar of the state.
Andersen, J., and Noe, J. Pro Tern., concur with Callow, J.