Court Opinion

ID: 9707450
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 02:11:54.916103+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:32.933945
License: Public Domain

CHASANOW, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in Part II of the majority opinion that Rohrback did not violate Rule 3.3(a)(2) of the Maryland Lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct when he failed to disclose to Judge Williams the fact that his client had another charge under the name of Boland. I also concur with the majority in Part III that Rohrback did violate Rule 4.1(a)(2) in failing to disclose to the presentence investigator Asbury’s false identity. I even concur with the majority on the sanction to be imposed. I disagree, however, with the majority’s determination in Part 1(A) that Rohrback did not violate the Rules of Professional Conduct while assisting Asbury in obtaining bond for the August 25 DWI offense.
At the hearing on the disciplinary charges before Judge Wolff, Rohrback testified:
*103“I ... was torn because I knew that he was being charged under Boland and he had the other charges under Asbury, and I wasn’t sure whether I should say anything to the Commissioner or not, because Mr. Asbury had made it plain to me back in the lock-up that his main concern was getting out of that jail. That is what he had me there for, and he told me if they know about me being Asbury, they are either going to make me post a lot of bail or they might not even release me at all, so I don’t want them to know. Said I am going to go through with it as Boland.”
From this testimony and the other evidence before him, Judge Wolff was entitled to find, and did find, that Rohrback knew Asbury would fraudulently obtain bond by giving a false name to the commissioner. Indeed, the majority acknowledges that “Rohrback could have foreseen that Asbury would attempt to pass himself off as Boland before the commissioner.” Majority Op. at 94. Knowing of As-bury’s intent to secure release by fraudulently using a false identity, Rohrback should have refused to aid in Asbury’s endeavor to obtain bail by deceitful means. Instead, Rohrback actively assisted Asbury’s fraud for a fee of $250.00.
Rohrback acknowledged he was “dumb” in assisting As-bury’s attempt to obtain release under the name of Boland. As Judge Wolff noted, Rohrback testified before the inquiry panel that:
“It was a dumb decision on my part to go there and bail him out under Boland. I should have done something right then and there, said I can’t, I can’t do it. He kept saying, you got to get me out, you got to get me out.”
I believe Judge Wolff was correct when he concluded that Rohrback violated the Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.2(d), by assisting a client in conduct that the lawyer knows is fraudulent. Rohrback knew Asbury was going to fraudulently use the name Boland to hide his prior record and secure his release. Knowing Asbury’s intentions, Rohrback became an active participant in the fraudulent release. *104Rohrback did not just give Asbury the name of a bondsman, nor did he simply call a bondsman to write the bail. Rohrback contacted a bondsman with whom he had prior dealings and convinced the bondsman that Asbury would be a good risk despite the fact that Asbury was using a false name. It was Rohrback, not Asbury, who met with the bondsman and arranged to have the bond written. Rohrback gave the bondsman Asbury’s true name, but it is reasonable to infer that the bond was written under the name Boland, if not at Rohrback’s direction, at least with his approval. Judge Wolff was not clearly erroneous when he concluded that Rohrback “arranged for a bondsman to write Asbury’s bail bond under the name of Boland using Asbury’s real address.” Asbury’s use of the name Boland was obviously a fraud on the court, and this was apparent to Rohrback. Asbury acknowledged to Rohrback that, if his true identity were known, “they are either going to make me post a lot of bail or they might not even release me at all____” Asbury was an alcoholic who continued to drive while intoxicated despite the suspension of his license and despite his prior convictions and pending charges. This was, at least, Asbury’s fourth DWI arrest, his third within five years. He was driving on a Florida license under an assumed name because his Maryland license under his real name had been suspended as a result of his driving while intoxicated. In view of this pattern of habitual drinking and driving and disregard for the motor vehicle laws of this state, if released on bond, Asbury could be a potential danger to the community. Under these circumstances, Rohrback’s actions in assisting in Asbury’s fraudulent attempt to obtain release on bond were reprehensible. Rohrback should have either insisted Asbury make full disclosure of his true name or Rohrback should have refused to arrange for a bondsman to write the fraudulent bond.
I am at a loss to understand how the majority can find that Rohrback acted ethically and that “the bondsman was an independent actor—a superseding cause” and “Rohrback could, in effect, pass the problem on to the bondsman, after *105full disclosure to the bondsman.” Majority Op. at 94. I assume the majority is not suggesting that an attorney’s ethical obligations can be “passed on” to a bail bondsman, or that attorneys do not have to fulfill their ethical obligations to avoid fraud because they may assume bail bondsmen will do so for them. Here, Rohrback did not even remotely suggest that he instructed the bail bondsman to write the bond under Asbury’s true name. It should be obvious that “Lloyd Boland” would not be released pursuant to a bond written for “Lloyd Asbury” and that, if the bondsman disclosed Asbury’s true name, any decision about bail would be quickly reevaluated. The bond was written by a bail bondsman under the false name “Boland,” and since Rohrback made all the arrangements to have the bond written, the trial judge was not clearly erroneous in concluding that Rohrback “arranged for a bondsman to write Asbury’s bail bond under the name Boland____” Judge Wolff properly found that procuring the bail bondsman and making the arrangements to have the bond written in a false name was tantamount to assisting a client in conduct the lawyer knew to be fraudulent, and thus, was a violation of Rule 1.2(d).
An attorney is in a delicate position when taking any action on behalf of a person who the attorney knows is perpetrating a fraud. The attorney must be careful to avoid assisting in the fraud and should anticipate that any actions will be closely scrutinized. I respectfully dissent from the majority’s conclusion that Rohrback committed no ethical violation by assisting Asbury in obtaining release on bail under a false name.