Dortch, Matter of, 24040

Citation199 W.Va. 571,486 S.E.2d 311
Decision Date14 April 1997
Docket NumberNo. 24040,24040
CourtSupreme Court of West Virginia
PartiesIn the Matter of John Curtis DORTCH.
Syllabus by the Court

1. " 'Article eight, section one et seq. of the West Virginia Constitution vests in the Supreme Court of Appeals the authority to define, regulate and control the practice of law in West Virginia.' Syl. pt. 1, Lane v. West Virginia State Board of Law Examiners, 170 W.Va. 583, 295 S.E.2d 670 (1982)." Syl. pt. 4, Committee on Legal Ethics v. Karl, 192 W.Va. 23, 449 S.E.2d 277 (1994).

2. This Court reviews de novo the adjudicatory record made before the West Virginia Board of Law Examiners with regard to questions of law, questions of application of the law to the facts, and questions of whether an applicant should or should not be admitted to the practice of law. Although this Court gives respectful consideration to the Board of Law Examiners' recommendations, it ultimately exercises its own independent judgment. On the other hand, this Court gives substantial deference to the Board of Law Examiners' findings of fact, unless such findings are not supported by reliable, probative, and substantial evidence on the whole record.

3. Pursuant to Rules 4.2(b), 5.0 and 5.2(b) of the Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law, in order to be eligible for admission to the practice of law in this State, an applicant must prove that he or she possesses good moral character.

4. When assessing the moral character of an applicant whose background includes a criminal conviction, the following factors should be considered: (1) The nature and character of the offenses committed; (2) The number and duration of offenses; (3) The age and maturity of the applicant when the offenses were committed; (4) The social and historical context in which the offenses were committed; (5) The sufficiency of the punishment undergone and restitution made in connection with the offenses; (6) The grant or denial of a pardon for offenses committed; (7) The number of years that have elapsed since the last offense was committed, and the presence or absence of misconduct during that period; (8) The applicant's current attitude about the prior offenses (e.g., acceptance of responsibility for and renunciation of past wrongdoing, and remorse); (9) The applicant's candor, sincerity and full disclosure in the filings and proceedings on character and fitness; (10) The applicant's constructive activities and accomplishments subsequent to the criminal convictions; and (11) The opinions of character witnesses about the applicant's moral fitness. These factors are intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.

5. Even though, pursuant to Rule 7.0 of the Rules for Admission to the Practice of Law, the West Virginia Board of Law Examiners issues a certificate of eligibility, and files it along with a character report, with this Court, for an applicant for admission to the practice of law, this Court is not required to admit that applicant. If this Court determines that the applicant possesses the necessary qualifications for admission, it will, pursuant to its inherent power to define, regulate and control the practice of law in this State, admit the applicant to the practice of law. However, if this Court determines that the applicant does not possess the necessary qualifications for admission, it will, pursuant to its inherent power to define, regulate and control the practice of law in this State, deny the applicant's admission to the practice of law.

Dwayne L. Tinsley, Charleston, for John Dortch before the West Virginia Board of Law Examiners.

John M. Hedges, Morgantown, for West Virginia Board of Law Examiners.

McHUGH, Justice:

This matter is before this Court upon the application of John Curtis Dortch who, in 1975, pleaded guilty to second degree murder, attempted armed robbery and conspiracy, for admission to the practice of law in the State of West Virginia. Though the West Virginia Board of Law Examiners (hereinafter "Board") voted three to two to recommend Mr. Dortch's admission to the bar and subsequently issued a certificate of eligibility and filed it with this Court for his admission, this Court denies Mr. Dortch's admission to the practice of law in this State.

I. Applicant's Background and Underlying Felony Offenses

The applicant was born in 1945 and was graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1968 with a bachelor of arts degree in history and double minors in government and business. He served in the United States Army from 1968 through 1969 as an infantry officer, volunteering for active duty in Vietnam and receiving an honorable medical discharge as a result of injuries sustained in combat. 1

Following his discharge from the military, Mr. Dortch returned to the Washington, D.C. area where, from 1969 through 1974, he enjoyed a successful career as a field underwriter for New York Life Insurance Company. He also became a registered representative with the National Association of Securities Dealers.

In 1974, the applicant founded JCD Enterprises, an operational holding company. For various reasons, JCD Enterprises faced financial failure in its first year. The applicant made legitimate efforts to obtain a capital infusion from investment bankers and underwriters. When these efforts proved unsuccessful, the applicant, in his words "panicked," and as a result, engineered a conspiracy to commit an armed robbery of the Columbia Federal Savings & Loan Association in Washington, D.C.

On September 20, 1974, the applicant and one of the other seven co-conspirators he assembled, John W. Bryant, parked two blocks from the bank. The couple was dressed in construction gear, complete with hard hat, work clothing and work boots. 2 Underneath their work clothing, the men wore civilian clothing. Mr. Dortch carried a bricklayer's bag containing various weapons.

While still approximately two blocks from the bank, the applicant was stopped on the sidewalk by a police officer in an unmarked cruiser who had apparently been alerted of the robbery scheme by an informant. Upon sensing that the applicant was carrying a weapon, the police officer tried to snatch it away, at which time the weapon, a sawed-off shotgun, discharged, causing powder burns under the applicant's eye. No one else was injured.

In the midst of the commotion, both Mr. Dortch and Bryant fled, but in different directions. The applicant shed his construction clothing in a nearby warehouse and, in his civilian clothing, re-entered pedestrian traffic, caught a bus and escaped. In the meantime, Bryant was apprehended by a District of Columbia police officer, twenty-four year old Gail Cobb. Officer Cobb had not pulled her weapon on Bryant when he shot and killed her. She was one of the first female police officers in the United States to be killed in the line of duty. The applicant, who was not at the scene where Officer Cobb was killed, heard about it on the radio. He surrendered to police shortly thereafter.

Mr. Dortch was subsequently indicted and tried on numerous counts related to the conspiracy, attempted bank robbery and felony murder. During the trial, however, the applicant entered a guilty plea to second degree murder, conspiracy and attempted armed robbery. He was sentenced to fifteen years to life in prison.

During his incarceration, the applicant was, by all accounts, a model prisoner. He received numerous college credits as a student through Louisiana State University and training as an accountant in the UNICOR Federal Prison Industries.

Upon his release in 1990, having served fifteen years in prison, Mr. Dortch worked as business manager for the Covenant Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. and then, in 1991, enrolled in law school at the District of Columbia School of Law. While in law school, the applicant was elected president of the Student Bar Association, Lieutenant Governor for the Student Division of the American Bar Association for the Eleventh Circuit, Chairman of the Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity and received the Dean's Cup for leadership at the law school. Mr. Dortch graduated in May of 1994 and has passed, in addition to the bar examination of West Virginia, the Maryland and District of Columbia bar examinations, though he has not been admitted in those jurisdictions. 3

Since graduating from law school, the applicant has been an adjunct professor at the District of Columbia School of Law, has worked as a paralegal at a Charleston, West Virginia law firm, and has volunteered with summer youth employment programs. He has also been active in local church functions, counseling and bible prayer sessions. The applicant had no criminal arrests or convictions prior to his criminal activities in 1974 and, likewise, has had no arrests or convictions since then.

II. Bar Application Procedure

Mr. Dortch's application for admission to practice law in the State of West Virginia was received by the Board on or about October 25, 1995. The applicant's application, which revealed his felony convictions and prison term, 4 was eventually referred to the District 8 Character Committee (hereinafter "Character Committee") for investigation and report. 5 following an investigation and interview of the applicant, the Character Committee, by letter to the Board dated January 17, 1996, indicated that

if the Committee were to judge Mr. Dortch on his current character, without the background of the serious felonious activity, we would certainly recommend him for admission to the West Virginia Bar. Our Courts have seemed to have said on several occasions that the simple fact of a conviction of a serious crime precludes a person from being entitled to the license to practice law. If that is the rule in West Virginia, then Mr. Dortch should not be admitted.

If, however, the Board of Bar [sic] Examiners believes that felonious activity and the conviction...

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