Court Opinion

ID: 9705937
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:27:01.683081+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:17.726626
License: Public Domain

RAKER, Judge,
with whom ELDRIDGE, J. joins, concurring:
I concur in the judgment of the Court and would dismiss the petition because Bar Counsel has not sustained its burden to prove by clear and convincing evidence that respondent used a means in representing a client that had no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay or burden a third person, in violation of Rule 4.4. Respondent’s conduct, although highly inappropriate and unprofessional, was not unethical subjecting him to discipline under the Rules of Professional Conduct.
I.
I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that because respondent, although he was representing a client, was not dealing with a person concerned with the legal process, this case does not fall within the construct of Rule 4.4, Respect for Rights of Third Persons. See maj. op. at 426. As I read the majority opinion, the majority determines that in order to come within the ambit of Rule 4.4, the complainant must be a party to the litigation in which the respondent is an attorney, a witness or opposing counsel. Id. at 426-27. Moreover, gathering information in preparation for a trial or conduct in preparation for litigation would not fall within the Rule. It seems to me that Rule 4.4 is broad enough to cover the conduct of a lawyer who, while acting in that capacity, inter*431acts with a State employee and uses means in representing a client which have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay or burden a third person.
In considering whether respondent violated Rule 4.4, we look at the purpose of his actions rather than the effect. Maryland Rule 4.4 focuses on the “substantial purpose” of the lawyer’s actions, and not on the effect the conduct might have upon the third person. See American Bar Association, Annotated Model Rules of Professional Conduct R. 4.4 cmt. at 424 (4th ed. 1996); Idaho State Bar v. Warrick, 137 Idaho 86, 44 P.3d 1141, 1145 ( 2002); Mississippi Bar v. Robb, 684 So.2d 615, 621 (Miss.1996). I agree with the majority’s analysis that respondent’s confrontation in the matter sub judice “was with, and the resulting conduct and remarks were directed at, an agent of the custodian of the records that the respondent was attempting to obtain and was the result of the respondent’s perception that the requirements for accessing the information imposed by the agent were improper and even illegal.” Maj. op. at 425. Although respondent was rude, his purpose was not to embarrass, delay or burden a third person. Accordingly, Bar Counsel has not proven a violation of the Rule.
II.
I also do not subscribe to the majority’s construct of Rule 8.4(d). The majority sets out a two-prong test to determine if a lawyer’s conduct comes within the Rule: “Only when such purely private conduct is criminal or so egregious as to make the harm, or potential harm, flowing from it patent will that conduct be considered as prejudicing, or being prejudicial to, the administration of justice. ” Maj. op. at 428-29 (emphasis added). I agree that the Rule covers criminal conduct. I do not agree, however, with the view that the Rule is applicable to any conduct which is so egregious as to make the harm, or potential harm, flowing from it patent. The phrase “prejudicial to the administration of justice” is not defined in the Rules of Professional Conduct, nor do the rules or our case law give guidance for application to specific circumstances. The standard embraced by the majority is ambiguous and elusive. It *432smacks of “I can’t define it but I know it when I see it.” Simply because some conduct is so obviously violative of the Rule and “prejudicial to the administration of justice” does not, in my view, save the Rule. It is unfair to lawyers in the State to be subject simply to the moral barometer of four judges of this Court. Due process requires more — a lawyer is entitled to have fair notice of conduct which would subject him or her to discipline under the Rules of Professional Conduct. The standard adopted by the Court today fails to give fair notice.
I would construe Rule 8.4(d) to apply to criminal conduct or, when dealing with private conduct, such conduct that is in some way connected to the practice of law. See Attorney Grievance Comm’n v. Sheinbein, 372 Md. 224, 812 A.2d 981(2002) (Eldridge, J., dissenting, joined by Raker, J.). Judge Eldridge pointed out that, until Sheinbein, this Court has found conduct to be in violation of Rule 8.4(d) only when there has been conduct that is criminal in nature, or when the lawyer’s conduct concerned his own legal practice or his relationship with his clients. Id. at 276-77, 812 A.2d at 1011-12.
In sum, I do not subscribe to the majority’s two-prong description of the various types of conduct which violate Rule 8.4(d) because that description does not capture an essential element, which is that the conduct must either be criminal conduct, or conduct that has some connection, directly or indirectly, to the practice of law.
Judge ELDRIDGE, authorizes me to state that he joins in this concurring opinion.