Court Opinion

ID: 9462842
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 22:51:29.968217+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:37:48.735387
License: Public Domain

*684LUMBARD, Circuit Judge
(concurring):
I concur in the court’s opinion but add a few words as to my understanding regarding the power of the district court to act upon the right of the defendant to practice law in the New York state courts.
In my opinion, the most that the district court has the power to do with respect to defendant’s practice in the New York courts is to refer to the appropriate Appellate Division of the New York Supreme .Court the matter of what disciplinary action should be taken regarding the defendant’s right to practice in the New York courts. It is not true and never has been true, as the government contends, that disbarment automatically follows conviction for a federal felony. Pastore’s conviction for tax evasion, though a felony under federal law, would only have been a misdemeanor under New York law and would be treated as a misdemeanor by the state courts in any disciplinary proceedings. E. g., Neville v. Monroe County Bar Assn., 31 A.D.2d 266, 297 N.Y.S.2d 271 (4th Dept. 1969), aff’d 25 N.Y.2d 782, 303 N.Y.S.2d 529, 250 N.E.2d 586 (Ct.App.1969); Curtis v. Monroe County Bar Assn., 39 A.D.2d 86, 332 N.Y.S.2d 438 (4th Dept. 1972); Joyce v. New York State Bar Assn., 37 A.D.2d 289, 324 N.Y.S.2d 638 (3d Dept. 1971). As is well known, where attorneys have been convicted of tax evasion in violation of federal law the most that has happened is a suspension from practice for periods of time ranging from three months up to one year. In some eases only a censure has been imposed. As for the federal courts, the conviction of an attorney for a federal felony or misdemeanor is seldom, if ever, followed by any disciplinary action regarding federal court practice. The federal courts have no staff to handle such matters and they have relied entirely on the state court authorities to take such action as they think proper.
The grant of the right to practice law is primarily the responsibility of the state. Applicants are subjected to extensive examination and investigation prior to admission to practice in New York and also Connecticut and Vermont. Thereafter practice in a federal district court has been pretty much pro forma. The federal district courts of this circuit have seldom taken the trouble to require any showing of knowledge or experience beyond that which is certified by admission to the bar of one of our three states. Indeed, the great majority of attorneys admitted to the bars of New York, Connecticut and Vermont practice largely in their state courts, with only a small percentage spending any appreciable amount of time on federal court matters.
So far as protection of the public is concerned, I think it is obvious that the courts and the profession have been far too lax in imposing sanctions where there has been substantial basis for doing so. But that is not a matter where the federal courts have any right or duty to lead the way.
In the light of all these circumstances, it is my view that the district court has no power whatever to affect the right of the defendant to practice in the New York courts. It may only refer the matter to the proper New York authorities for the slap on the wrist which may or may not be administered sometime in the future. The haphazard and lenient fashion in which the courts and the profession have imposed sanctions for unprofessional and criminal conduct of attorneys is cause for concern. This failure to supervise effectively where the need has been demonstrated surely presents a strange contrast to current concern about professional training and competence.
Of course, as the majority opinion points out, it would have been entirely proper for Judge MacMahon to act with respect to Pastore’s right to practice in the federal courts, but this would have to be done in accordance with the rules of the particular federal court where Pastore was admitted to practice.