In re Manville

• Decision Date: 04 March 1988
• Docket Number: No. 84-1362.,No. 87-93.,No. 87-92.,84-1362.,87-92.,87-93.
• Citation: 538 A.2d 1128
• Parties: In re Daniel E. MANVILLE (No. 84-1362), Applicant. In re Walter STRAUSS (No. 87-92), Applicant. In re George L. BROOKS (No. 87-93), Applicant.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

Page 1128

538 A.2d 1128

In re Daniel E. MANVILLE (No. 84-1362), Applicant.

In re Walter STRAUSS (No. 87-92), Applicant.

In re George L. BROOKS (No. 87-93), Applicant.

No. 84-1362.

No. 87-92.

No. 87-93.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Argued En Banc June 8, 1987.

Decided March 4, 1988.

Robert E. Jordan III, with whom Maureen O'Keefe Ward, Frank B. Stilwell III, and Laurie Genevro Cole, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for petitioner Manville.

Walter Strauss, New York City, pro se.

Michael Millemann, Baltimore, Md., for petitioner Brooks.

Robert N. Weiner, Washington, D.C., was on the brief of amicus curiae, The Section on Courts, Lawyers and the Admin. of Justice of the District of Columbia Bar, joined by The Section on Criminal Law and Individual Rights of the District of Columbia Bar, for petitioners.

Randell Hunt Norton, Washington, D.C., was on the statement in opposition to brief of amicus curiae.

Carol Garfiel Freeman, Rockville, Md., with whom Lloyd N. Moore, Jr., Washington, D.C., entered an appearance, for respondent, Committee on Admissions. ON HEARING/REHEARING EN BANC

Before PRYOR, Chief Judge, and MACK, NEWMAN, FERREN, BELSON, TERRY, ROGERS, and STEADMAN, Associate Judges.

BELSON, Associate Judge:

A common feature marks the backgrounds of the three applicants for admission to the bar whose cases are before us — each was convicted over a decade ago of a felony. Each of the three, Daniel E. Manville, Walter Strauss and George L. Brooks, attempts to overcome that obstacle to admission by demonstrating thorough rehabilitation over a period that extends ten years or more after their respective releases from confinement. This is Manville's second appearance before this court in connection with his bar application. A division of this court initially considered his application in In re Manville, 494 A.2d 1289 (D.C.1985) (hereafter Manville I), and remanded the case to the Committee on Admissions for its independent investigation of Manville's moral fitness for admission to the bar. After conducting an independent investigation of Manville's background, the Committee recommends, with one dissent, that Manville be admitted to the bar. We agree, and therefore accept the Committee's recommendation with respect to Daniel E. Manville. We also accept the Committee's recommendations and admit Walter Strauss and George L. Brooks based on their ex parte presentations to the Committee.¹

In 1973, Daniel Manville pled guilty to a charge of voluntary manslaughter arising out of an incident that occurred in December 1972.² At that time, Manville was a college student who had been honorably discharged after three years of military service. Manville and his younger brother agreed to assist another student in recovering drugs and money believed to have been stolen by one Doug Edgar. Manville, his brother, and another person entered Edgar's apartment under the pretext of purchasing drugs, then threatened him with a gun and a knife. When two visitors arrived unexpectedly, Manville used chloroform to render Edgar and the visitors unconscious. One of the visitors died from an unusual reaction to the chloroform. Charged with murder, Manville entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter and received a sentence of from fifty-four months to fifteen years in prison. The sentencing judge later opined that he doubted that Manville had intended to kill anyone.

Following his criminal conviction, Manville has dedicated himself to improving himself and others. While in prison, he became a "jailhouse lawyer," completed his college education, and helped other inmates as an academic tutor and a co-counselor in a psychological therapy program. After his release on parole in 1976, Manville attended a paralegal training program, and then obtained a master's degree in criminal justice. Manville worked with a Head Start Program and with an anti-discrimination program. In 1979, Manville entered Antioch School of Law, where he served as a tutor, teaching assistant, and director of The Prison Law Monitor. Since law school, Manville has been employed by the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison Project and has also revised and published a prisoner's litigation manual.

Several important events have occurred since the Manville I opinion. First, Manville has been admitted to the bar in Michigan, the state in which Manville committed the homicide, even though to date he has been unsuccessful in obtaining a pardon from the Governor of Michigan. Second, Manville's life history was thoroughly explored by a private investigator retained by our Committee on Admissions. That investigator interviewed about twenty-five people who had known Manville at various times in his life and examined all available records about Manville. A picture emerged of a man who, after a normal childhood, became involved in the drug culture and crime during his college years, but who since has demonstrated thorough rehabilitation. Those who have known Manville since his conviction, including the deputy wardens at the prison where Manville was incarcerated, almost uniformly describe Manville as dependable, honest, hard-working, trustworthy, and devoted to others. Only one person who has known Manville has opposed his admission to the bar: a landlord with whom Institutional Educational Services, a company for which Manville worked, had a rent dispute. The Committee heard testimony from the landlord and Manville concerning the dispute and determined that "the incident does not reflect adversely on Mr. Manville's character." Our review of the record confirms that the Committee's conclusion is supported by substantial evidence.

One Committee member dissented from the recommendation that Manville be admitted to the bar. He concluded that, given Manville's age (twenty-five) and experience (three years of military service, three years as a college student and a short time as a factory worker) at the time of the crime, as well as the seriousness of the offense, a longer period of time was necessary before the Committee could conclude that Manville's recent good conduct demonstrated good moral character.

George Brooks was raised by devoutly religious parents in a very strict atmosphere in a small Kentucky town. After he enrolled at the University of Kentucky, he experienced academic problems and had difficulties adjusting to the new environment. When he dropped a required course because he was doing poorly, he was reclassified as draft eligible and ordered to report for an induction physical.

Brooks apparently was unable to handle the stress. On May 21, 1970, he attempted to rob at gunpoint a bank located near his home. The record does not show how Brooks acquired the gun. He wore no disguise. He fired several inaccurate shots at an armed bank guard who returned the fire, seriously wounding Brooks. Brooks entered a guilty plea to a charge of attempted armed robbery and was sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. He served approximately seven years of his sentence before he was paroled in 1977.

Brooks had an outstanding record in prison and occupied himself with completing his education, helping others acquire high school equivalency diplomas, expanding the law library, and training other inmates to use it. Brooks was recommended for and received parole at the earliest possible date.

After he was paroled, Brooks finished his college education at the University of Kentucky and attended Antioch School of Law. Brooks did exceptionally well in college and law school and helped found a law journal at Antioch. He received excellent references from a clinical professor and the former dean of Antioch. Brooks also received consistently positive references from his employers. For over a year, Brooks has worked as a law clerk at the Bethesda, Maryland, law firm of Beckett, Cromwell & Myers.

Brooks has not been admitted to any other bars. On November 1, 1983, the Court of Appeals of Maryland declined to grant Brooks' application for admission to the Maryland Bar, finding that "the rehabilitative period following petitioner's release from prison in 1977 [was] of insufficient duration, considering the gravity of the offense committed." In re Application of George B., 297 Md. 421, 466 A.2d 1286 (1983). The record does not indicate whether Brooks has reapplied to the Maryland Bar since that date.

The same Committee member who disagreed with the Committee's recommendation concerning Manville voted to exclude Brooks on the ground that Brooks had not been out of prison long enough to demonstrate his rehabilitation.

Walter Strauss was arrested ten times between 1959 and 1966 for offenses relating to his addiction to heroin and the criminal activities he used to support his habit. In 1962, Strauss acquired a felony conviction for the sale of narcotics and conspiracy to sell narcotics. Strauss served more than two years of imprisonment before he was paroled in 1965. In February 1966, Strauss was again convicted of narcotics distribution. This conviction was later vacated and the indictment was dismissed on the ground that Strauss was entrapped into committing the offense. Strauss served five years of his prison sentence before his conviction was reversed in 1971.

While he was in prison, Strauss acquired his high school equivalency diploma and completed several college courses. Following his release from prison, Strauss finished his college education and graduated with honors from Richmond College (CUNY) in 1974. Thereafter, Strauss obtained a master's degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law.

Strauss' employment since his release from prison has included working as a paralegal for The Fortune Society-Advocates for Penal Reform, as a teacher for Project S.H.A.R.E., an organization that provides life skills classes and remedial tutoring for ex-offenders, as a lecturer in criminology and criminal...