Suspension For Failure To Pay Child Support

Last week the District of Columbia Court of Appeals imposed reciprocal discipline for misconduct that it has never (so far as I am aware) sanctioned in an original case – the failure to pay court-ordered child support.

 Respondent, a member of the Bar of this Court, was indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Maryland, by consent, by the Maryland Court of Appeals on May 13, 2014. In the Joint Petition for Indefinite Suspension by Consent in Maryland, respondent agreed that sufficient evidence could be presented to sustain allegations that he owed $22,654.56 in child support payments and that his conduct violated Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(a) and 8.4(d).

The court rejected a plea for a non-suspension, finding that no exception to reciprocal discipline had been established.

The attorney is indefinitely suspended in D.C. and can seek reinstatement if reinstated in Maryland or after five years, whichever is sooner. (Mike Frisch)