Court Opinion

ID: 9847603
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 04:02:56.059374+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:17:22.821135
License: Public Domain

Ness, Chief Justice
(dissenting):
The majority has imposed an inadequate sanction. Respondent should be disbarred.
There is no more serious duty imposed upon this Court than proper discipline of attorneys who are guilty of misconduct. The quality of justice administered in our state depends largely upon the character and integrity of persons whom this Court has judged to be morally fit to practice law.
Respondent has sexually assaulted two teenage boys. His conduct was morally reprehensible and illegal. The evidence is undisputed, and the majority concedes, that respondent’s desire to have sex with children is incurable, and will plague him for the rest of his life. Respondent should be permanently disbarred to protect the public from the possibility, however remote, that he may someday be allowed to serve as an officer of the Court.
The majority’s distinction of Matter of McDonald, 269 S. C. 598, 239 S. E. (2d) 83 (1977) is illogical. It is difficult to imagine conduct which requires a more serious sanction than sexual assault of children.
I would disbar.