Court Considers “Grave Injustice” Exception To Reciprocal Discipline

An unusual reciprocal discipline case will be argued in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on April 9th.

The attorney was disbarred in Alabama.

The D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility has recommended a 90-day suspension with fitness based on its conclusion that disbarment would amount to a “grave injustice.” 

Because the disbarment imposed by the Alabama Disciplinary Board is so disproportionate to the sanction that would otherwise be imposed in this jurisdiction, we conclude, by clear and convincing evidence, that an obvious miscarriage of justice would occur if Respondent were disbarred…

…the Board finds that Respondent’s misconduct is most analogous to those cases where the Court has imposed 60-day suspensions for contempt of court. Specifically, the Board finds Breiner and Powell to be the most comparable. In Breiner, the respondent was held in contempt multiple times for a pattern of disrespect to the court, as a result of his excessive zeal in representing a criminal defendant. Similarly, in Powell, the respondent was held in contempt and caused a mistrial, harming his criminal defendant client. The findings of the Alabama Disciplinary Board encompass all of the elements of Breiner and Powell and thus warrant a sanction at least as serious. However, the Alabama Disciplinary Board found that Respondent also failed her client, and engaged in equally troubling conduct towards witnesses and the Assistant District Attorney. Given the extreme nature of her contumacious conduct and her failure to recognize it, insofar as she continued to press her grievances outside the courtroom on television, Respondent’s misconduct is somewhat more egregious than the 60-day suspension cases. Given these additional factors, the Board recommends that the Court impose a 90-day suspension.

And this may be played a role in the Alabama sanction.

After the trial, the attorney made a comment to a television station “that there was an intolerance by white judges to show respect to black attorneys and that the judge was embarrassed by all the lies the State told during the trial.”

Bar Counsel has appealed the board recommendation. 

As reflected in this earlier post, this is a rare instance where my sympathies lie with the board. (Mike Frisch)