Hoare, In re

• Decision Date: 12 August 1998
• Docket Number: No. 97-2005,97-2005
• Citation: 155 F.3d 937
• Parties: In re: Michael J. HOARE, Respondent/Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 937

155 F.3d 937

In re: Michael J. HOARE, Respondent/Appellant.

No. 97-2005.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Argued Dec. 11, 1997.

Decided July 2, 1998.

Rehearing and Suggestion for Rehearing En Banc Denied Aug.

12, 1998. ^*

Eugene K. Buckley, St. Louis, MO, argued, for Appellant.

Before WOLLMAN, FLOYD R. GIBSON, ¹ and LOKEN, Circuit Judges.

WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.

Michael J. Hoare appeals from an order of disbarment entered by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. We affirm.

I.

Prior to his disbarment, Hoare, a former law professor and United States Department of Justice attorney, was engaged in a successful private law practice in St. Louis, Missouri. Hoare had been admitted to practice in the jurisdictions of Missouri and Massachusetts, and was a member of the Bar of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of the United States. Before the incident that resulted in his disbarment, Hoare had never been subject to criminal prosecution or professional discipline in any jurisdiction.

After having two or three glasses of wine at a neighborhood party in St. Louis on the evening of April 24, 1993, Hoare drove across the Mississippi River to Illinois, where he drank wine and beer throughout the remainder of the evening and into the early hours of the next morning. According to Hoare's own testimony, he may have consumed as many as twelve drinks in all.

Shortly before 5:00 a.m. on April 25, seventeen-year-old Joshua Roedersheimer and his younger brother, Drew, were traveling south on Interstate 255 in Joshua's car on their way to work at their grandfather's produce stand at the Farmer's Market in South St. Louis County. Herman Roedersheimer, the boys' grandfather, followed close behind in another vehicle.

Meanwhile, having slept for a short time in his car, Hoare awoke and started for home. He apparently lost his bearings, and after mistakenly turning south on Illinois Route 3 near Cahokia, ultimately entered an I-255 exit ramp. Driving past one "Do Not Enter" and two "Wrong Way" signs, Hoare, traveling northward, entered the interstate's southbound lanes. He drove for more than two miles in the wrong direction.

The dawn was just about to break as Hoare collided with Joshua Roedersheimer's southbound car. Drew Roedersheimer, who had been dozing in the passenger seat, was injured and bleeding but was able to pull Joshua free from the car. Herman Roedersheimer, who witnessed the collision, went to Joshua's side as the boy lay mortally injured on the side of the road. After calling out, "Help me, help me," Joshua died in his grandfather's arms.

When police and emergency vehicles arrived at the scene, Hoare, who had suffered a broken ankle and dislocated hip, refused to allow police to draw a blood sample to be tested for alcohol. Blood drawn from Hoare for medical purposes by hospital personnel, approximately two and a half hours later, revealed a blood-alcohol content of .12 percent. At the time, the legal limit was .10 percent in Illinois. An accident reconstruction specialist later testified that Hoare's automobile was straddling two lanes at the time of the crash and that there was no evidence Hoare had taken evasive action. Joshua's vehicle, in contrast, had veered right and had skidded some 126 feet prior to the point of impact.

Hoare was charged in St. Clair County, Illinois, circuit court with the aggravated reckless homicide of Joshua Roedersheimer. He rejected an offer by state prosecutors of a recommendation of probation in exchange for a guilty plea to the reduced charge of reckless homicide. The case proceeded to trial. At Hoare's first trial, in July of 1995, a mistrial was declared when a juror changed her mind and refused to affirm, when polled, the guilty verdict that had been returned. A second trial resulted in Hoare's conviction for aggravated reckless homicide in March of 1996. See State v. Hoare, No. 93-CF-583 (20th Judicial Circuit, St. Clair County, Illinois, March 12, 1996).

Hoare did not appeal. At sentencing, he read a statement of remorse. Facing a maximum of fourteen years in prison, Hoare was sentenced instead to six months in the St. Clair County jail in Belleville, Illinois, and was placed on probation for forty months. He was ordered to perform forty hours of community service during each month of his probation, half of which was required to involve the assistance of persons with alcohol problems. A civil suit filed against Hoare by the Roedersheimer family was later settled by his insurance carrier.

Following Hoare's conviction, the Supreme Court of Missouri, pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 5.21 (Suspension for Criminal Activities), issued an order requiring Hoare to show cause why his license to practice law should not be suspended. After considering Hoare's response, the court entered an order on June 10, 1996, suspending him from the practice of law pending final disposition of disciplinary proceedings initiated as a result of his felony conviction. Approximately one month later, without further proceedings, the court issued an order disbarring Hoare from the practice of law in Missouri. See In re Michael Hoare, No. 78870 (July 16, 1996).

On June 20, 1996, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri entered an order requiring Hoare to show cause why the identical discipline of disbarment should not be imposed pursuant to Local Rule 12.02. See Missouri Court Rules, State and Federal 738 (West 1997). ² A second order was issued on August 1, 1996, placing Hoare on interim suspension pending a final resolution of the matter. The court then proceeded in accordance with its Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement. Rule II (Discipline Imposed by Other Courts) provides that when determining whether to discipline a member of its bar consistent with a state disciplinary adjudication, the court

may impose the identical discipline unless the respondent-attorney demonstrates, and this court finds:

(1) that the procedure in the other jurisdiction was so lacking in notice or opportunity to be heard as to constitute a deprivation of due process; or

(2) that there was such an infirmity of proof establishing the misconduct as to give rise to the clear conviction that this court could not, consistent with its duty, accept as final the conclusion of the other jurisdiction on that subject; or

(3) that the imposition of the same discipline by this court would result in grave injustice; or

(4) that the misconduct established is deemed by this court to warrant substantially different discipline.

Rule II(D), Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (January 18, 1996).

On March 11, 1997, the district court issued its order that Hoare be "disbarred, that his right to practice law in this court is terminated, and that his name be stricken from the roll of attorneys authorized to practice law in this court." See In the Matter of Michael J. Hoare, No. 96-MC-187 (E.D.Mo. March 11, 1997) (en banc). Hoare now appeals from that order.

II.

Courts have long recognized their authority to suspend or disbar attorneys, an inherent power derived from the attorney's role as an officer of the court that granted admission. See In re Snyder, 472 U.S. 634, 643, 105 S.Ct. 2874, 86 L.Ed.2d 504 (1985). Although a state court disciplinary action is not conclusively binding upon the federal judiciary, federal courts are nevertheless obliged to accord a high level of deference to state court disbarment proceedings. See Theard v. United States, 354 U.S. 278, 281-82, 77 S.Ct. 1274, 1 L.Ed.2d 1342 (1957); Selling v. Radford, 243 U.S. 46, 50-51, 37 S.Ct. 377, 61 L.Ed. 585 (1917); In re Attorney Discipline Matter, 98 F.3d 1082, 1087 (8th Cir.1996); Matter of Randall, 640 F.2d 898, 901 (8th Cir.1981); In re Rhodes, 370 F.2d 411, 413 (8th Cir.1967). Thus, when a district court learns that a member of its bar has been subject to discipline by another jurisdiction, the identical discipline is typically imposed. See Randall, 640 F.2d at 901.

We will reverse a district court's disciplinary order only when an abuse of discretion has occurred. See Attorney Discipline Matter, 98 F.3d at 1087; Matter of Discipline of Olkon, 795 F.2d 1379, 1381 (8th Cir.1986).

Hoare first asserts that the district court erred in requiring him to demonstrate the inappropriateness of reciprocal discipline by clear and convincing evidence, a standard of proof not set forth in the court's Rules of Disciplinary enforcement. It was for the district court to determine what standard of proof is appropriate under its rules, and we perceive no unfairness resulting from the Rules' silence on the matter.

Next, Hoare argues that the court abused its discretion in concluding that discipline substantially different from disbarment was not warranted in his case. See Rule of Disciplinary Enforcement II(D)(4). In particular, he asserts that (1) any misconduct on his part does not reflect adversely upon his fitness to practice law; and (2) the discipline imposed in this case is substantially harsher than that imposed upon attorneys in other jurisdictions who have been involved in alcohol-related vehicular homicides.

We reject Hoare's argument that his misconduct does not reflect adversely on his fitness to practice law. Hoare is guilty of committing a felony. He elected to drive while intoxicated, drove for more than two miles on the wrong side of an interstate highway, and ended the life of an innocent young man. Upon his arrest, he refused to cooperate with police officers by forbidding them to test his blood for alcohol. Such conduct, when committed by an officer of the court, constitutes a failure to maintain personal integrity, reflects upon one's fitness to practice law, and brings the bench and the bar into disrepute. See, e.g., Matter of Horwitz, ...