Court Opinion

ID: 9635915
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 14:10:17.324772+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:35:22.505743
License: Public Domain

Steele Hays, Justice, dissenting. I agree with the majority opinion in some respects, in particular that those who come to the bar are bound by a solemn covenant to uphold the law by adherence and by example. A lawyer who rends that covenant in deliberate and material ways risks perpetual disbarment. Even so, I believe the petitioner has made a convincing case for reinstatement, notwithstanding the seriousness of these offenses. It should first be mentioned that the vote by the Committee could not have been closer — six votes against reinstatement to five votes for. Thus, a vote change of one out of the eleven would have reversed the result. The closeness of that vote bespeaks the strength of the petitioner’s case. Although we review this case de novo, the majority opinion largely ignores the evidence presented to the Committee, preferring instead to quote verbatim the three counts of the federal indictment. But those are mere allegations and we know nothing from this record concerning the specifics of the evidence presented in the federal trial of Sam Anderson. It is simply not before us. That significant omission in the majority opinion makes it incumbent on this opinion to outline the evidence pro and con. The evidence in support of Anderson’s application includes the following: Mr. Neil Pennick, an attorney in Hot Springs since 1982 and currently deputy prosecuting attorney and assistant city attorney, has known the petitioner about five years, attesting to his maturity, sound mental and emotional stability and good moral character. He expressed the opinion that Anderson recognizes his own accountability and sincerely regrets that he ever got involved with drugs. Mr. Scott Hickam, an attorney practicing in Hot Springs since 1979, testified that professionally he has found petitioner to be diligent, competent, honest and trustworthy. He has never had reason to question those traits in him. He considers petitioner to be remorseful, progressing from “I wish this wasn’t happening to me,” to “this is something I should not have done.” He never regarded petitioner as a drug distributor, but involved in exchanging drugs within a certain social group. He considers him a much different person today than seven or eight years ago. As chair of the Garland County Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee he was aware of no complaints that any actions by Anderson crossed the line between lawyer and paralegal. He had no reservations at all concerning Anderson’s moral character or emotional stability nor did he know of any opposition in the community to his reinstatement. Kristi Anderson testified that she and Sam Anderson married in December 1989 after dating some twelve months. She is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University and a licensed school teacher with five years experience. They have an infant daughter. Mrs. Anderson testified to the routine of their family life and to petitioner’s work habits and domestic responsiveness. She said there were no drugs in their home and never would be. Sam Anderson testified that since his release he has been employed as a paralegal in his father’s law office, and has adhered to the disciplines outlined in articles on that topic in publications of the Arkansas Bar Association and Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association. He maintains he used cocaine socially for approximately six months and had voluntarily ended the usage some four or five months before his indictment in November of 1984. He has kept abreast of developments in the law and has undergone random bi-weekly drug testing over the past year under the supervision of Dr. John Simpson. The results were consistently negative except for some prescribed medication associated with back surgery. He outlined the events of his drug abuse and professed to regret the mistakes of that experience and to accept full responsibility for them. Donald R. Williams, United States Probation Officer for sixteen years, a resident of El Dorado, testified that he supervised petitioner upon his release from prison. He was present at petitioner’s trial and viewed his drug use as primarily social, involving a circle of friends in a trendy lifestyle, trading among themselves. He saw no indication that petitioner was engaged in drug traffic. He likened it to one person buying a keg of beer with the others sharing the cost. There was, he said, no indication that petitioner was addicted. The conditions of petitioner’s parole included drug testing, and regular reporting to the probation office which monitored his activities. There were never any negative reports or tests and Anderson was prompt and conscientious in all that was required of him. Officer Williams considered Anderson to be honest, hardworking, dependable and trustworthy and he recommended him for reinstatement. He testified that he had asked to appear on behalf of petitioner, which he had done only twice previously in sixteen years of service. He said there was no evidence of substance abuse prior to November 1983 or after May 1984. Dr. Douglas A. Stephens, clinical psychologist, testified to petitioner’s emotional and mental stability, characterizing the profile as “very positive,” and without negatives. Based on his own observations over many years he saw petitioner as professionally efficient, resourceful and capable and whereas he earlier tended to be impulsive and somewhat immature, he was “much more mature” some eight years hence. Accompanying petitioner’s application are some forty-eight letters from professionals, businessmen and women, civil leaders and officials attesting to the good moral character and stability of Sam Anderson and recommending his reinstatement. The list includes the chief of police, the Garland County sheriff, chief deputy sheriff, two chancery judges, a municipal judge, and state and county officials. Among the supporting documents accompanying the application is a petition signed by fifty attorneys practicing in Garland County pledging their support and endorsement for the reinstatement of Sam Anderson to the bar of Arkansas. Against that rather imposing array of support stands a single, unsigned letter expressing the view that an attorney who has been convicted of a felony should never, ever be readmitted to the bar. That, of course, simply restates the question to be decided and otherwise has little bearing on the case. As to the fitness of this petitioner, there is nothing of a negative character beyond the fact of his crime and conviction. The Committee did not take issue with any part of that evidence and, in fact, gave an implied endorsement to “the positive evidence of the record,” concluding by narrow vote that the “felony conviction singularly outweighs” such proof. In reaching an opposing view I am persuaded by the following factors: 1. This offense is not one involving dishonesty, professional conduct, defalcation of funds, or the like, to the pecuniary gain of the perpetrator. 2. The substance abuse involved a span of about six months, ceased voluntarily, and occurred nearly ten years ago. 3. Anderson has paid the penalty exacted by society, satisfied in full the fine imposed and has been conditionally pardoned by the Governor, whatever its legal significance may be. 4. Anderson has satisfactorily complied with all the conditions of his release. 5. Anderson’s federal parole officer recommends his reinstatement in the strongest terms. 6. Numerous professional peers attest to Anderson’s good moral character and subscribe to his fitness to reenter the practice. 7. Fifty practitioners in Garland County have pledged their unqualified support and endorsement of Anderson’s application for reinstatement. 8. The chief of police, county sheriff, chief deputy sheriff and a great many state and county officials endorse Anderson’s application without qualification. 9. Anderson, by most indications, has come to terms with his prosecution and conviction, recognizing where the responsibility lies and manifesting a resolve that there be no repetition. A change in lifestyle and the maturing effect of marriage and parenthood are clearly evidence. 10. No complaints have been filed against Sam Anderson with the Committee on Professional Conduct nor is there any suggestion that he has been less than circumspect while engaged as a paralegal. In sum, I can see no loss to the integrity of the bar for Anderson to reenter the practice. I suspect he will prove to be more mature and circumspect for his experience. Holt, C.J., joins in this dissent.