Bar Ass'n of City of Boston v. Scoty

• Decision Date: 19 May 1911
• Parties: BAR ASS'N OF CITY OF BOSTON v. SCOTY.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

209 Mass. 200
95 N.E. 402

BAR ASS'N OF CITY OF BOSTON
v.
SCOTY.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

May 19, 1911.

Exceptions from Superior Court, Suffolk County; Robt. F. Raymond, Judge.

Disbarment proceedings by the Bar Association of the City of Boston against John J. Scott. Judgment of suspension, and defendant excepts and appeals. Exceptions overruled.

Geo. [209 Mass. 204]D. Burrage, for petitioner.

Jesse M. Gove, Geo. T. Perry, and Grenville S. MacFarland, for respondent.

[209 Mass. 201]RUGG, J.

This is a petition to disbar the respondent, an attorney at law. It alleges in substance that the respondent as attorney for the plaintiff, in an action entitled O'Halloran v. Boston Elevated Ry. Co., which was tried twice in the superior court, after a final verdict had been rendered in favor of the plaintiff, filed six witness certificates as a basis for the taxation of costs, bearing the names of seven witnesses showing attendance for 33 days each, the aggregate amount of which, including travel, was $372.90, which certificates were false to the knowledge of the respondent and were not made in good faith, but were illegal and fraudulent; that in making them out and in instructing witnesses to sign them the respondent acted dishonestly and committed a fraud upon the defendant and the court, and that by inadvertence counsel for the defendant did not give notice of a desire to be present at the taxation of costs, and execution issued including the above mentioned amount for witness fees; that thereafter a motion was filed to vacate the judgment on account of these fraudulent certificates, which motion was denied for lack of jurisdiction; and that the respondent paid over to the several witnesses a small part only of the amount of witness fees thus collected and fraudulently and dishonestly retained, and converted to his own use the balance thereof. The respondent filed an answer in which he denied all fraudulent or corruptacts, or any violation of his oath of office in this regard, and averred that the witness certificates were truthful and in accordance with the facts.

[209 Mass. 202]There was a hearing before a justice of the superior court, who made a finding of facts to the effect the while the case of O'Halloran v. Boston Elev. Ry. Co. was upon the list so that it might have been called for trial, the respondent arranged with the witnesses so that they might be reached by telephone, and while some of them occasionally ran into the respondent's...