Court Opinion

ID: 9651698
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 16:31:34.093948+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:37.653660
License: Public Domain

PAPADAKOS, Justice,
dissenting.
When Mr. Surrick was admitted to the bar of this Commonwealth, he took, as a pre-requisite to admission, the following oath of office:
*275I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the' Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity, as well as to the court as to the client, that I will use no falsehood, nor delay the cause of any person for lucre or malice.
This requirement is embodied in our Bar Admission Rules, Pa.B.A.R. 231(a)(2), and mandated by statute, 42 Pa.C.S.A. § 2522, which reads:
Before entering upon the duties of his office, each attorney at law shall take and subscribe the following oath or affirmation before a person authorized to administer oaths:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity, as well as to the court as to the client, that I will use no falsehood, nor delay the cause of any person for lucre or malice. Any person refusing to take the oath or affirmation shall forfeit his office.
It follows that any person violating this oath or affirmation forfeits his office. For otherwise, the oath would be mere tapestry, meaningless and a cruel joke upon the citizenry of our Commonwealth who expect honor and integrity from all those persons of a public official nature in whom the public place their trust.
We have always been of the view that all conduct by members of the bar which falls below the standards imposed upon them by our Rules of Professional Conduct and by virtue of their membership in the Bar, subjects them to the review of our Disciplinary Board and this Court. The mere fact that the same misconduct violates the Code of Judicial Conduct or the Penal Laws of Pennsylvania should not deprive the Disciplinary Board of jurisdiction to determine whether the misconduct has violated any of the Disciplinary Rules of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
*276It makes no difference whether the conduct complained of is committed by an attorney in or out of his or her professional capacity. Both are subject to review by the Disciplinary Board because in both instances an attorney’s conduct has brought him and the bar into disrepute. Thus, we not only discipline attorneys who act unethically in their professional capacity, but similarly discipline those attorneys who commit crimes or who engage in conduct that is not criminally punished but nevertheless falls short of the standards expected of all members of the bar even though that conduct had nothing to do with the attorney’s professional life or does not arise out of an attorney-client relationship. “We cannot distinguish between dishonesty involving client matters and dishonesty in private matters: the seriousness of respondent’s misconduct is not lessened by the fact that the victims of his fraud were not his clients.” Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Ewing, 496 Pa. 35, 436 A.2d 139 (1981).
The record in this case clearly reveals that an attorney-member of the Judicial Inquiry and Review Board (JIRB) disclosed to the public confidential information. The ban against disclosure of information pending before the JIRB is constitutionally mandated in Article V, Section 18(h) of the Pennsylvania Constitution and in the Rules of Procedure governing the JIRB (Rule 20) and applies to all members of the JIRB and parties appearing before it.
The act of disclosing confidential information under these circumstances is a failure to obey the express terms of the Constitution of this Commonwealth and the only question is whether such conduct, the express violation of his oath of office as an attorney, subjects him to review by the Disciplinary Board and discipline by this Court.
It seems to me that if the Disciplinary Board has jurisdiction in cases where attorneys sell drugs, steal money, rob or kill, in non-attorney-client settings, then it similarly has jurisdiction over Mr. Surrick who knowingly and intentionally refused to obey and support the very Constitution that he was charged with supporting, obeying and defending. I *277believe that his conduct has been properly brought before the Disciplinary Board and that he should be disbarred. Cf. In Re Greenberg, 442 Pa. 411, 280 A.2d 370 (1971), wherein this Court suspended Common Pleas Judge Greenberg because of criminal conduct committed while he was a practicing lawyer and before he had become a judge.
I strongly must dissent to the majority’s contrary conclusions in this case for, in my mind, the majority’s approach is riddled with inconsistencies and will create more problems than it solves.
First, the majority makes much of the fact that the JIRB is a free and independent constitutionally created body. How free and independent is JIRB when a Chief Justice assumes authority over it to direct its actions? For Chief Justice O’Brien did not request that an inquiry be commenced in the conduct of Mr. Justice Larsen. He directed that such an inquiry be made. (Page 884 of the majority opinion.) Can a Chief Justice or any Justice of this Court also direct JIRB to discontinue an inquiry?
How free and independent is JIRB when a Chief Justice can influence JIRB in the hiring of a particular lawyer to act as special counsel as is reported was done in the Larsen I inquiry?
JIRB is a constitutionally created board which simply obtains and sifts through information and creates a record for this Court to review in cases of judicial misconduct. It is not a sacred cow or idol that requires veneration. We are free to accept or reject any and all of JIRB’s findings and recommendations as we often do, and I think it is a mistake to elevate this fact-finding board to anything more than it really is — our constitutionally appointed hearing body.1
Second, to assume that members of the JIRB act as judicial officers subject only to the Code of Judicial Conduct *278will create a myriad of unforeseen problems. If lawyer members of JIRB are subject to the Code of Judicial Conduct because they are acting in a judicial capacity, then what are we to do with lawyer members of the current board if they lend their names to money-raising ventures or if they donate money for political campaigns? Has Mr. Surrick engaged in political activities while serving as a member of JIRB? Has former Justice Bruce Kauffman engaged in political activity while serving as the attorney member of the Board? Have any of the other lawyer members of the Board engaged in political activities while serving as members of JIRB? Does the majority infer that these lawyer-members of the Board may be in violation of Canon 7 of the Code of Judicial Conduct which provides:
CANON 7. A JUDGE SHOULD REFRAIN FROM POLITICAL ACTIVITY INAPPROPRIATE TO HIS JUDICIAL OFFICE.
A. Political Conduct in General
(1) A judge or a candidate for election to judicial office
should not:
(a) act as a lender or hold any office in a political organization;
(b) make speeches for a political organization or candidate or publicly endorse a candidate for public office; except as authorized in subsection A(2);
Commentary
A candidate does not publicly endorse another candidate for public office by having his name on the same ticket.
(c) solicit funds for or pay an assessment or make a contribution to a political organization or candidate, attend political gatherings, or purchase tickets for political party dinners, or other functions, except as authorized in subsection A(2)____
As to Mr. Surrick, I am interested to know, since he is no longer a member of JIRB, what jurisdiction JIRB has over *279him now and what discipline can it or we impose? He cannot be removed from the JIRB, since he no longer serves on it; his judicial salary cannot be taken from him, since he earns none; and he cannot be suspended as a judicial officer, since he does not serve in that capacity.
Third, if the majority means that judicial officers can be disciplined only under the Rules of Judicial Conduct for their judicial transgressions, does that mean that we are powerless to remove from the bar, or otherwise sanction, those members of the judiciary whom we have removed because of their transgressions as judicial officers?
In short, I believe the majority has raised a smoke screen to permit one individual to escape, but which may suffocate the entire judiciary of Pennsylvania. Mr. Surrick violated the Constitution and his oath of office as an attorney by his conduct. If he wishes to reveal confidences that others are compelled to keep, so be it. But he cannot put himself above the law and expect to be able to enjoy the privilege of representing others under our system of laws. Whether the constitutional mandate of confidentiality is appropriate or not is not for us to decide but for the people of this Commonwealth who have the ultimate authority in such matters.
Those former jurists who have prejudiced the proper administration of justice and brought the judicial office in disrepute thus undermining public confidence in our judicial system, and have caused their removal from the upper side of the bench, may now sleep easier because they have today been given immunity from disciplinary action as lawyers and may practice from the lower side of the bench which they have disgraced. Apparently, the majority is blind to the fact that their misconduct will have deleterious consequences on the integrity of the Bar of Pennsylvania. On the other hand, perhaps these former jurists should hold their breath. This Court has recently acquired a flair for reversing itself, so that this opinion may represent a ticket *280good for one ride only.2 I, too, will hold my breath, waiting to see how this Court will extricate itself from the bind in which it has placed itself and our Disciplinary Board.
I would disbar Mr.. Surrick without hesitancy and sustain the jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Board in this case.3 Hence, I dissent.

. In both In the Matter of: Judge Joseph P. Braig, 520 Pa. 409, 554 A.2d 493 (1989), and In the Matter of: Judge Esther R. Sylvester, 521 Pa. 300, 555 A.2d 1202 (1989), we recently rejected the controlling findings of fact and the recommendation of the Board, made our own findings of fact and exonerated both Judges from any wrongdoing.

. See, Commonwealth v. Weakland, 521 Pa. 353, 555 A.2d 1228 (1989); and Commonwealth v. Leon Williams, 521 Pa. 556, 559 A.2d 25 (1989).

. Other states have recognized the jurisdictions of their lawyer disciplinary board over lawyers who have committed transgressions while serving in various public capacities. Former President Richard M. Nixon resigned from the Bar of California as of October 24, 1974, with charges pending against him. His resignation was accepted without prejudice to further proceedings should he ever seek reinstatement.
Former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew was disbarred in Maryland on May 2, 1974, following his conviction in Federal Court.
The late Governor Otto Kerner, Jr., of Illinois, was disbarred on August 2, 1974, for transgressions he committed while sitting as a judge.
Judge Claiborne of the Federal District Court for the District of Nevada was subjected to a disbarment action in his home state of Arkansas and he voluntarily resigned before any proceedings took place.
See also, Annotation, Misconduct in Capacity as Judge as Basis for Disciplinary Action Against Attorney, 57 A.L.R.3d 1150, in which some 27 states are cited as reasoning that; "... misconduct in any capacity whatsoever, including a judgeship, reflects upon an attorney’s fitness to practice law and is consequently a proper ground for discipline.” 57 A.L.R.3d 1158. See also, U.S. re Gilbert, 276 U.S. 294, 48 S.Ct. 309, 72 L.Ed. 580, (1928) cited therein.
Eleven judges implicated in the Greylord proceedings in Illinois were disbarred on consent in 1984-1988.