Court Opinion

ID: 9604609
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 02:24:09.48326+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:02:23.010738
License: Public Domain

W.h. “Dub” Arnold, Chief Justice, dissenting. I respectfully disagree with my fellow justices that disbarment is not the appropriate sanction in this case. As I noted in my dissent in Wilson v. Neal, 341 Ark. 282, 16 S.W.3d 228 (2000), the appropriate sanction is not only important to the appellant in this case, but it is ultimately important to the entire legal profession, in that appellant’s conduct constitued a violation of Rule 8.4(b) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which regards the commission of a “criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.” Mr. Matthews was indicted on two felony counts, but ultimately pled guilty to two counts of Bribery of a Small Business Investment Official, a federal misdemeanor in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 215. He ultimately served eleven months in a federal prison, one month in St. Francis Halfway House, and two months of home confinement. The majority agreed with the trial court that these convictions, even though they were misdemeanors, involved dishonest or selfish motives and constituted serious misconduct. However, in light of the effect of the Wilson v. Neal case, supra, wherein Mr. Wilson was merely suspended from the practice of law for five years after defrauding the federal government of a substantial amount of money, the majority has determined that it would be unfair to now hold an attorney similarly convicted to a higher standard than Mr. Wilson. Therefore, the majority has determined that the fair thing to do where Mr. Matthews is concerned is to, likewise, suspend him from the practice of law for five years. I find this troubling. In an attempt to now be “fair” to all attorneys “similarly convicted, “(i.e., those who have served time in a federal prison for crimes, albeit misdemeanors, involving dishonesty), this Court is now in effect setting a standard of five-year suspensions as the appropriate sanction. For all of the reasons I articulated in the Wilson case, particularly the fact that practicing law is a privilege rather than a right, I believe a dangerous precedent is being set by this Court, moving the standard which guides the actions of attorneys to a considerably lower level. In my opinion, the decision in this case in no way advances public trust and confidence in our profession; in fact, this decision, along with the Wilson case, further diminishes it. I, therefore, must respectfully dissent. Smith, J., joins.