Remand To Explore Whether Attorney Touched Client’s Breast A “Futile” Exercise

The Maryland Court of Appeals has indefinitely suspended an attorney with the right to seek reinstatement after 60 days

This attorney discipline proceeding involves an immigration lawyer who failed to represent two clients competently, diligently, and with adequate communication, and who was alleged to have committed a crime by touching a female client’s breast without her consent.

As to the touching

Traore testified as follows. In Summer 2009 or 2010, Traore visited Chanthunya’s office to give him some papers that were related to her legal matters. Traore said that she needed to use the restroom. Chanthunya gave her the key to the restroom. Traore used the restroom and returned the key to Chanthunya, who then touched Traore’s breast. Traore asked: “What [was] that for?” Chanthunya’s only response was: “Well.” Chanthunya did not ask for permission to touch Traore’s breast. Traore did not in any way give Chanthunya permission to touch her breast.

The court had earlier ordered a remand

In our view, the hearing judge’s explanation of his finding reveals that the hearing judge based his findings on what he believed a victim of sexual assault would or should do—namely, report the incident to law enforcement and/or the victim’s spouse, and cease contact with the perpetrator.

On September 28, 2015, we heard oral argument. On October 1, 2015, we remanded this attorney discipline proceeding to the hearing judge to address important issues that arose out of the hearing judge’s findings of fact and conclusions of law. Chief among other that [] Traore’s testimony [that Chanthunya touched her breast] was not credible . . . , if indeed [the hearing judge] continue[d] to maintain that[.]” On January 22, 2016, the hearing judge filed in this Court a supplemental opinion in which the hearing judge maintained that Traore’s testimony that Chanthunya touched her breast was not credible, and concluded that Chanthunya had violated MLRPC 8.4(a), but had not violated MLRPC 8.4(b).

In his supplemental opinion, the hearing judge provided essentially the same basis for finding not credible Traore’s testimony that Chanthunya touched her breast without her consent. Given that we have already remanded this attorney discipline proceeding to the hearing judge to address this matter, and that the hearing judge provided the same inappropriate basis for finding that Traore’s testimony was not credible in his supplemental opinion, we conclude that it would be futile to remand yet again to the hearing judge to properly address the matter of Traore’s credibility…

The client was from Guinea. The court noted a number of aggravating factors.

We note five aggravating factors: (1) a pattern of misconduct, as Chanthunya engaged in similar misconduct in separately representing two clients; (2) multiple violations of the MLRPC; (3) a refusal to acknowledge the misconduct’s wrongful nature; (4) substantial experience in the practice of law, as Chanthunya had been a member of the Bar of Maryland for approximately ten years at the time of his misconduct; and (5) the victims’ vulnerability, as both of Chanthunya’s clients, Traore and Vanguere, were not United States citizens and had immigrated to this country,

(Mike Frisch)