Court Opinion

ID: 9731356
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:43:03.506143+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:17.210636
License: Public Domain

WEISBERGER, Justice,
dissenting.
At the outset I should like to express my deep respect for the members of the disciplinary board who during a period of more than one year conducted hearings and evaluation meetings not only in respect to the twenty-one attorneys who are the subject of this opinion but also in respect to a number of other attorneys for whom public discipline was not recommended. Each attorney was given a separate evidentiary hearing by a panel designated for that purpose. Thereafter, the entire board evaluated the findings and recommendations of each panel. The recommendations concerning each respondent attorney were sent to this court along with a written decision setting forth findings of fact and conclusions of law. In each instance a transcript of the proceedings was furnished to the court as well.
From the time of transmittal of the recommendations and supporting material the members of this court reviewed the record in each case and gave each attorney and his counsel an opportunity to show cause in writing and orally why the proposed disciplinary sanction should not be imposed.
Both the members of the disciplinary board and the members of this court carefully considered the factual background in each case along with the relevant disciplinary rules that were in effect at the time of the conduct upon which the charges were based.
I have no doubt of the high motivation of the members of the disciplinary board who serve without compensation for the sole purpose of maintaining the ethical standards upon which the practice of law must *328be based. As set forth in appendix 1 to the opinion of the majority, the members of the disciplinary board were mindful of the privilege of self-regulation and the grave responsibilities that accompany it.
In like manner the members of the court were fully aware that they were dealing with a case of first impression in this jurisdiction. They were fully aware of the enormous import of imposing discipline upon members of the bar of previously good reputation and outstanding professional competence. They balanced the gravity of this task against the necessity of maintaining public confidence in the ethical standards of the profession and in the impartiality of the administration of justice.
Although I do not question the integrity, the good faith, and the rational basis of the conclusions reached by the disciplinary board and by my colleagues, I come to a different result based upon what I believe to be an equally conscientious evaluation of the same factual material. To a great extent my conclusions are based upon findings of fact made by the disciplinary board itself. Let us examine some of these findings.
As set forth in appendix 2 to the majority opinion the disciplinary board issued a general memorandum in which certain overall findings of fact were stated. One of these general findings should be emphasized at this point:
“The facts in each of the cases are set forth in the decisions themselves and one cannot ignore the striking similarity among them. The Board noted that the evidence presented did not disclose a situation in which an attorney offered money to a sitting justice, but rather in each of the cases the solicitation of funds was made by the Judge. In each instance, the Judge presented a story of dire financial circumstances which necessitated an immediate loan. In their defense, the attorneys stressed a charitable motive rather than an intent or expectation of a favor and some quite candidly admitted a fear of retribution if the loan was not made.”
I accept the foregoing finding of fact and agree that it represents a common thread that may be discerned in all the cases presented to us.
Both the disciplinary board and my colleagues on this court concluded that Judge Fuyat had skillfully maneuvered each of the attorneys into either exchanging checks with him in order to assist him in dire financial circumstances or arranging loans for him in circumstances of temporary monetary embarrassment. These findings are well synthesized by the comment in the transmittal letter (appendix I):
“The facts in these matters indicated to us that the chain of events which occurred over the time in question resulted from the instigation of a single Judge who succeeded in a con game of enormous proportion.”
The majority, in its opinion, reflects this finding and states without equivocation that “no evidence demonstrates or even suggests that any of the attorneys planned to influence Fuyat by acceding to his requests.” The majority goes on to comment:
“Most of the attorneys acted out of sympathy and/or friendship; they complied with Fuyat’s urgent requests in order to avoid Fuyat’s being subjected to the public embarrassment that the judge represented as imminent.”
It is also apparent from the findings of the disciplinary board and the majority that Fuyat seldom, if ever, decided a controverted issue. He was not only financially irresponsible, but was also professionally incompetent. The evidence in all the cases clearly indicates that on a typical judicial day Fuyat would either call the calendar or have his clerk do so. He would then retreat to his office where he would spend the day either telephoning on matters known only to himself or conferring with attorneys in order to exhort them to work out their differences so that he would not need to decide the issues in the cases. Consequently his track record indicated that he was highly unlikely to be in a position to grant judicial favors.
*329The general tenor of these undisputed facts that underlie the findings of the disciplinary board and the majority of this court persuades me that we are, however well-intentioned, punishing the victims of a sly, unscrupulous, and unethical judicial officer. There is no question in my mind that every one of these attorneys would have disassociated himself from Fuyat and denied his requests without hesitation if he had been aware of the scope and magnitude of the Fuyat machinations. We have the benefit of twenty-twenty hindsight as we review and correlate all these files. Each of the attorneys knew only of the request made to him or to his immediate associates. Each committed the wrong of misplaced compassion. Each felt that he was dealing with a judge who could be relied upon to meet his obligations, both financial and professional. A judicial officer is normally a person of considerable prestige who has merited wide respect in his or her community. He or she may be presumed to act in accordance with law and applicable ethical standards. A lawyer should not be strongly condemned for viewing a judge in this light, at least up to the point where the lawyer has reasonably clear notice to the contrary. I believe that by the time these lawyers had notice that Fuyat was unworthy of either the prestige or the respect due a judicial officer, it was too late to withdraw.
As each of these attorneys was suddenly importuned by Fuyat, his opportunity for reflection was extremely limited. Even though in some instances the attorney might have had a chance to reconsider as he engaged in implementing the transaction requested, it is important to bear in mind that the attorney had already committed himself and would, therefore, have been most reluctant to reverse his indicated course.
I recognize that the members of the disciplinary board and my colleagues have as a goal the maintenance of public confidence in the bar and in the judicial system. This confidence has obviously been eroded by the outrageous conduct of Fuyat. The tragedy is, however, further compounded by his touching the lives of others who, without his persuasion, would have been wholly innocent of wrongdoing. Public confidence in the administration of justice can be earned and maintained only when the judicial system is seen to render justice in the individual case. I do not believe that the “appearance of impropriety” supports the imposition of the recommended discipline upon the respondent attorneys in this case.
It would be my decision to impose private censure upon all those for whom public censure is recommended. I would impose public censure upon those attorneys for whom suspension is recommended. It must be noted that the sanction of suspension, particularly for an extended period, will have a devastating effect upon the professional career of the attorneys involved. I do not believe that their conduct in arranging loans for Fuyat is deserving of this drastic sanction.
I tend to be persuaded by the conclusion of the Supreme Court of Illinois in In re Corboy, 124 Ill. 2d 29, 49,124 Ill.Dec. 6, 15, 528 N.E.2d 694, 703 (1988), wherein the court recognized that the respondent attorneys were “sailing in uncharted waters.” The attorneys in this case were not aware of the stringent interpretation that our court has placed on DR 7-110(A) of the former Code of Professional Responsibility or the inferences drawn from the general language of the new Rules of Professional Conduct that became effective November 15, 1988. The disciplinary board itself recognizes in its letter of transmittal that if the issue of deterring the individual lawyer from similar infractions were alone considered, “there is little question that a private reprimand would have served this purpose in all of the cases.” I do not believe that the severe sanctions imposed will be necessary to deterrence. I further do not believe that such sanctions will in the long run restore public confidence in the administration of justice.
Therefore, I respectfully dissent.