Court Opinion

ID: 9775824
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 19:09:59.642403+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:31.187739
License: Public Domain

PRICE, Judge,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur with the majority opinion that discipline is warranted against an attorney who suffered conviction because he “willfully failed to pay [federal income] taxes, although he possessed funds to do so.” I disagree, however, with the discipline imposed.
The record contains no evidence that Mr. Duncan has ever failed to represent any of his clients in a proper and professional manner. Neither does the record show any harm to his clients resulting from his failure to pay taxes, other than the harm suffered by the public as a whole when one individual fails to carry his share of the tax burden.
While the majority opinion equates the failure to pay taxes with the failure to file, I would not. Failure to file involves an element of intentional concealment that does not exist in the case of an individual who has declared his liability, but has not paid. But for Mr. Duncan’s admission in the plea agreement that “he possessed funds to do so”, this element would be so subjective as to be nearly impossible to prove. In my opinion, Mr. Duncan’s offense barely meets the “moral turpitude” standard, which is more normally associated with crimes of baseness, vileness or depravity.
The purpose of imposing discipline upon members of the Bar is primarily to protect the public from unsuitable practitioners, not to punish the practitioner. In re Fahey, 8 Cal.3d 842, 106 Cal.Rptr. 313, 505 P.2d 1369 (1973). The discipline assessed here should be tailored to that purpose.
Mr. Duncan entered into a plea agreement with the United States that allowed him to continue to work and to pay the Internal Revenue Service “all disposable income” and eventually $157,887.14. Rather than immediately suspending Mr. Duncan’s license, and thereby jeopardizing his ability to support himself and to pay his tax liability, I would defer imposition of any discipline so long as Mr. Duncan fulfills his obligations pursuant to the plea agreement. *446Should Mr. Duncan promptly and faithfully pay his tax obligation, we might then determine what discipline is warranted. Perhaps the six-month suspension would appear too harsh in that circumstance. Alternatively, should he not fulfill his plea agreement, perhaps a six-month suspension would appear too lenient. In short, I believe the public would be served best by crafting discipline for Mr. Duncan that facilitates the payment of his tax debt, rather than obstructing it.