Court Opinion

ID: 9533569
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 04:32:41.743294+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:29:05.387505
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE CLARK, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I agree that the conduct of the respondent is to be condemned. He should have immediately reported this attempted “shakedown” rather than participating in it. While I recognize that the pressures upon this unfortunate young man to go along with the scheme were enormous, the public and this court have a right to expect that attorneys will resist such pressures. I therefore concur in the court’s judgment insofar as it holds that the respondent has been guilty of misconduct which merits the imposition of a disciplinary sanction. I part company with my brothers, however, with regard to the particular sanction imposed in this case. My objections are twofold: First, the sanction imposed in this case is difficult to reconcile with the sanction we imposed in a recent case, In re Cook (1977), 67 Ill. 2d 26. Second, because the length of the suspension imposed in this case is not based upon an articulated standard, it provides insufficient guidance for our selection of sanctions in future cases. Without such guidance, the sanctions imposed in future disciplinary cases are likely to remain unpredictable and lack the appearance of fairness. In Cook we suspended the respondent for “3 years,” but because we mandated that the period of suspension begin almost two years prior to the date of the opinion, the respondent was in effect only suspended for one year and four months. In the instant case, the effective period of suspension is only four months shorter than that in Cook, but the misdeeds of this respondent pale in comparison to those in Cook. Cook was an attorney of considerable skill and prominence, much of which was attained in this jurisdiction. He had, largely as a result of that skill and prominence, risen to the chairmanship of the United States Securities Exchange Commission. His was a position of great public trust, for he headed the agency responsible for maintaining public confidence in the integrity of our capital markets. The financial security of millions of Americans could be affected by his actions and decisions. Thus, because of his position’s high visibility and responsibility, his actions had a critical impact upon public confidence in the administration of justice and in the integrity of our profession, and were a particularly fit subject for review in an attorney disciplinary proceeding. Cf. In re Alschuler (1944), 388 Ill. 492, 503; In re Di Bella (1974), 58 Ill. 2d 5, 8. Cook abused his public trust by using his high office to participate in a conspiracy to obstruct justice. In furtherance of that conspiracy he knowingly gave false testimony to a grand jury, apparently to protect the partisan political interests of the man who appointed him. In the instant case, the respondent, as an attorney, also held a position of public trust, but certainly one of lesser visibility and responsibility than Cook’s. In the instant case, the respondent also violated his public trust, but to a lesser degree than did Cook. Here, a police officer threatened to prejudice the constitutionally protected interests of the respondent’s client by giving false testimony unless paid to tell the truth. There is evidence that an assistant State’s Attorney also was a party to the attempted extortion. Faced with this situation, in what must have been a moment of not inconsiderable panic in this attorney’s young professional life, he made the wrong decision and failed to live up to the trust placed in him. But unlike Cook, he did not knowingly try to perpetrate a fraud upon the court; and his acquittal on charges of bribery and subornation of perjury also is not without significance. Why, therefore, is his punishment almost as severe as that in Cook? We noted Cook’s skill and reputation as factors in mitigation — yet are these not aggravating factors — or are prominent attorneys to be dealt with more leniently than less prominent ones? I confess that I find few answers to these questions in most of the recent decisions of this court, which brings me to my second point. Disciplinary cases bring us face to face with the dilemma which confronts our brothers on the trial bench each time they are called upon to pronounce sentence upon a defendant: There is a need to express society’s outrage at the offense, often tempered by natural human compassion for the offender and his family. If sentences are to be other than random, they must be based upon more than the unparticularized interplay of these two considerations. In the field of criminal law, the legislature can and does from time to time attempt to provide more specific standards. (See, e.g., section 5 — 1—1 et seq. of the Unified Code of Corrections (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 1005 — 1—1 et seq.). See also Public Act 80 — 1099.) In disciplinary matters, however, this court has held that its power is exclusive. (See People ex rel. Chicago Bar Association v. Goodman (1937), 366 Ill. 346; In re Day (1899), 181 Ill. 73.) If there are to be standards, therefore, they must come from this court. The sparse language of our rules is, without further analysis, singularly unhelpful. E.g., “conduct *** which tends to defeat the administration of justice or to bring the courts or the legal profession into disrepute” (58 Ill. 2d R. 752(a)). (See Swett, Illinois Attorney Discipline, 26 De Paul L. Rev. 325, 343-44 (1977).) We have not expressly adopted the Code of Professional Responsibility of the American Bar Association (though compliance therewith is a “safe guide”). (See In re Krasner (1965), 32 Ill. 2d 121, 129.) That leaves the opinions of this court as the most important key to the law of legal ethics in Illinois. But even here the court has held that the doctrine of stare decisis does not apply to the selection of sanctions. (In re Nesselson (1966), 35 Ill. 2d 454, 461.) Thus, the degree of consistency for which the court strives (In re Andros (1976), 64 Ill. 2d 419, 425) is unlikely to be achieved. Rather, our continued adherence to a case-by-case “totality of the circumstances” approach will leave our standards opaque and our sanctions unpredictable. Such unpredictability will require every case to be brought before us for review. Accordingly, we must articulate the standards which we apply in imposing sanctions in disciplinary cases; if not by rule, then by adjudication. Standards can and should be derived from the underlying purposes of our disciplinary process, which are to safeguard the public, maintain the integrity of the profession, and protect the administration of justice from reproach. (See, e.g., In re Sherre (1977), 68 Ill. 2d 56, 62; In re Smith (1976), 63 Ill. 2d 250, 256; In re Di Bella (1974), 58 Ill. 2d 5, 8; In re Gartland (1970), 47 Ill. 2d 177, 183.) These purposes can be further refined. For example, in context, the “safeguarding of the public” apparently refers to harm perpetrated against individuals, and means, that we will impose sanctions upon those who use the office of attorney to harm their clients or other persons. The purposes of sanctions for such misconduct should be (1) to remove from practice those who would use their office to harm their clients and other persons; (2) by reflecting the seriousness of the offense, to communicate to the respondent and to other members of the bar the standard of care expected of them; and (3) to reassure the public that they may seek legal assistance without fear of being defrauded or otherwise ill-served. Thus, when an attorney’s actual intent to defraud can be shown or inferred, disbarment is necessary for all three of the above reasons, because the attorney simply no longer can be trusted. When a lack of care is shown, however, the imposition of a sanction less than disbarment is likely to assure that greater care is exercised by the attorney in the future. (Cf. generally, In re Taylor (1977), 66 Ill. 2d 567, 571.) The length of suspension therefore should be closely tied to the harm caused or unreasonably risked because of the lack of care. Any suspension longer than six months is likely to have an extremely harsh effect upon the attorney’s personal and professional life, and therefore only should be imposed where the attorney’s misconduct was seriously prejudicial or harmful to the pecuniary, penal, or privacy interests of his client or another member of the public. Factors considered in mitigation of the sanction imposed in such cases should be limited to those which mitigate the seriousness of the breach of duty, and should not include considerations such as the good character and community involvement of the respondent, qualities which are to be expected of all attorneys. The “integrity of the profession” and the “protection of the administration of justice from reproach” deal not as much with the protection of individual members of the public, as with the general public interest. Our system of justice requires public confidence and support if it is to survive as an effective forum for the resolution of private disputes and the protection of public and private rights. Attorneys who defraud, obstruct, or corrupt that system, or who appear to do so, undermine such public confidence. Yet we also must be careful not to chill a vigorous advocate from timely presenting any defensible argument on behalf of his client. (See generally Canon 7 of the ABA Code of Professional Responsibility.) Nor should we be too quick to rely upon “the appearance of impropriety” as a substitute for substantial circumstantial evidence of misconduct. When misconduct is clearly shown, however, it should be punished in accordance with the degrees to which it undermines the integrity of the profession, the administration of justice, and public confidence therein. Thus, as suggested earlier, prominence in the profession and public offices involving the skills and training of an attorney summon an even higher standard of care than does the office of attorney and counselor itself, because the actions of lawyers in such positions have a crucial impact upon public confidence in the rule of law. Also, deliberate misstatements before a tribunal normally should lead to disbarment, for, once again, the attorney no longer can be trusted as an officer of the court. Interference of a less substantial nature, such as unjustifiable delays, improper conduct before the court, and other offenses, normally should call for sanctions less than the complete termination of a professional career. Thus, in such cases, disbarment, or even a three-year suspension, normally should not be imposed. (See In re Fisher (1958), 15 Ill. 2d 139, 154-55.) And, as stated earler, suspensions longer than six months are likely to have an extremely harsh effect upon an attorney’s professional and personal life, and therefore should be reserved for cases where the misconduct either caused or unreasonably risked substantial prejudice to the resolution of a particular matter within the jurisdiction of a particular tribunal. Conviction of a crime may call for disbarment if its commission reflects upon the integrity of the profession and suggests that the attorney is likely to use his office to harm either individuals (“the public”) or the public interest (“the administration of justice”). (See 65 Ill. 2d R. 761.) Crimes involving the intent to defraud normally fall into this category. (See, e.g., In re Sherre (1977), 68 Ill. 2d 56.) Later cooperation with the prosecution of one’s coconspirators in such crimes is not probative of the respondent’s initial intent to defraud if it is part of a “plea bargain,” and should not be considered in mitigation of the sanction imposed for the misconduct. The foregoing standards are not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, they are intended to be suggestive of the approach the court should be taking in dealing with these difficult issues, so that we begin to adopt a more consistent stance on sanctions for the misconduct of attorneys. The safeguarding of the public, the maintenance of the integrity of our profession, and the protection of the administration of justice against reproach will be better served thereby, because such an approach will more clearly communicate to both the public and the profession the standard of conduct expected of persons licensed to practice law in this State.