Second Disbarment In Offing
The California State Bar Court Hearing Department proposes reciprocal disbarment of an attorney based on a New Mexico sanction.
From the disbarment decision of the New Mexico Supreme Court
Venie’s advice to [criminal case client] L.A. that he should consider paying off his accusers and the State’s primary witnesses against L.A. unequivocally demonstrated Venie’s intent to convince his client to bribe witnesses. Not only did Venie repeat his advice to L.A., he offered to help carry out the bribery. Venie presciently told L.A. that by simply counseling L.A. to bribe witnesses he could be disbarred. This conduct alone justifies disbarring Venie from the practice of law.
And
Venie made material misrepresentations to tribunals during his representation of L.A. and at his disciplinary proceedings. Prior to the May 22, 2011 conversation, Venie prepared affidavits for Granddaughter, Son, and another witness based on their statements to Venie, in which they all claimed that L.A. was innocent of the crimes for which he was charged. During their May 22, 2011 conversation, Venie repeatedly acknowledged that L.A. had committed incest and L.A. confirmed his guilt.
The following excerpts from Venie and L.A.’s May 22, 2011 conversation (emphasis added) provide insight into Venie’s knowledge of L.A.’s crimes.
Venie: I know what you did, okay, and everybody knows what you did. And everybody’s been acting like you didn’t do it. And everyone’s been lying and saying you didn’t do it.
Venie: [Son]—this just kills me—[Son] can’t even take his daughter to get counseling to try and deal with this because if that happens, that’s going to hurt the legal case, all right? So [Son] is actually not giving [Granddaughter] the help she needs in order to help you, all right?
Venie: And, dude, [Son]’s lied, [L.A.’s wife (Wife) ] lied, [Granddaughter]’s lied. [Another witness]’s getting a lie [sic]. Everyone’s doing what you want them to do.
Venie: And I don’t give a fuck how much money [Son] owes you, what he’s done for you is priceless. Okay? He got his own daughter to lie to cover up your crime. He’s lying to cover up your crime. He’s in Arizona right now, fucking twisting [another witness]’s arm to cover up your crimes.
Venie: If you—if it was my father, I would not have done what [Son] had done. I would have probably shot your ass. Okay?
Venie: And [Son] has not only done that, he’s really standing up for you. Right now, as we sit here, he’s on his way to Arizona—
L.A.: I know.
Venie: —to tie down the last part of the case.
L.A.: And I’m taking the full brunt of it over the head. He tells me, “Well, you raped her.” Well, no, it’s far from the truth.
L.A.: She came to me naked.
Venie: —you understand that’s wrong, right?
L.A.: It’s wrong. I was—I fucked up big time.
Venie: So I don’t care if she—that’s not a defense. All right?
Venie: In fact, it’s kind of disgusting to me. All right? So—but we’re—that—that horse has already left the barn. We’re talking about what everyone’s doing now. Okay? You did what you did. All right? I’m just trying to save you from dying in prison. Okay?
Venie: I drafted up a statement for [other witness], and—in detail, killing the shit out of that case—and said, “Two copies, take it to Arizona, signed, notarized, fingerprinted, bring it back.” That’s what [Son] did.
Venie: But he’s told me he’s going to call me today when it’s all signed.
L.A.: See, I begged him to—
L.A.: —get it done about a month ago
Venie: I mean, they’re investigating you back 40 years. You know that?
L.A.: None of this shit has never [sic] come up before, never happened before. This deal was a fluke. I take 100 percent of the blame for it. I should have known better.
L.A.: I can’t say nothing to her because I can’t afford to make her mad. She’s milking it to the hilt to get what she wants, and I know it. And that’s fine, but I can’t give myself no defense because if I say anything, I piss her off. I say anything, I piss him off.
Venie: —his daughter got banged by his father—
L.A.: Yeah.
Venie: —and he’s still standing up for his father.
L.A.: Yeah.
Venie: So that’s pretty unusual, to say the least. Okay?
L.A.: Yeah.
L.A.: I promise you, there won’t be—me and him ain’t gonna have another bump. It’s like I told [Wife], I said—you know, he told [Wife], he says, well, I forced her. I says, “That’s a lie. She came to me naked.” I fucked up. But I did not go to her. She came to me. I can’t say that. I can’t tell [Wife] that—
L.A.: And it’s like—and it’s like I told [Wife], I said, “You know, I’m in a—I’m against a rock.” And all I can say is, “I’m sorry. I wish it hadn’t have happened. But what do you want me to do?”
(cites to record omitted)
What is particularly disconcerting is that Venie could have impeached Granddaughter with her initial statement to the police when she denied that she had ever had sexual relations with L.A. Instead, he sought to corroborate Granddaughter’s initial statement to the police with an affidavit that Venie drafted for her which he knew was perjured. Venie was permitted to hold the State to its burden of proving L.A.’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, but Venie’s advocacy was flawed and “falls outside [the] protected behavior” of vigorously representing his client.
Our coverage of the New Mexico disbarment is linked here. (Mike Frisch)