In re McBride, 88-BG-1563.

• Decision Date: 02 June 1994
• Docket Number: No. 88-BG-1563.,88-BG-1563.
• Parties: In re Willard C. McBRIDE, Respondent. A Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
• Court: D.C. Court of Appeals

642 A.2d 1270

In re Willard C. McBRIDE, Respondent A Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

No. 88-BG-1563.

District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Submitted September 9, 1993.

Decided June 2, 1994.

Leonard H. Becker, Bar Counsel, and Michael S. Frisch and Julia L. Porter, Asst. Bar Counsel, Washington, DC, were on the brief for petitioner, the Office of Bar Counsel.

Joseph M. Jones, Washington, DC, for respondent.

Before TERRY and SULLIVAN, Associate Judges, and GALLAGHER,^* Senior Judge.

PER CURIAM:

This disciplinary matter is before the court on the report and recommendation of the Board on Professional Responsibility (the Board), to which respondent and Bar Counsel concur, that respondent be suspended for a period of one year nunc pro tunc to March 7, 1989. On that date, this court temporarily suspended respondent following his conviction of a "serious crime" within the meaning of D.C.Bar R. XI, ž 10(b), namely, aiding and abetting the commission of a misdemeanor offense against the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. žž 1028(a)(4), and (b)(3) (1988).¹

The factual and procedural history of this matter are set forth in the Report and Recommendation of the Board, which we incorporate by reference and attach hereto as an appendix, and in this court's two prior opinions involving respondent. See In re McBride, 602 A.2d 626 (D.C.1992) (en banc) (McBride II); In re McBride, 578 A.2d 1102 (D.C.1990) (McBride I). Essentially, in McBride II, the en banc court reversed a decision by a division of this court in McBride I to permanently disbar respondent and remanded the case to the Board for a determination as to whether, "on the facts, McBride's misdemeanor conviction under 18 U.S.C. žž 1028(a)(4) and (b)(3) (1988) involves moral turpitude." McBride II, supra, 602 A.2d at 641.

We review the Board's recommendation in accordance with D.C.Bar R. XI, ž 9(g) (1993), which provides, in part, as follows:

the Court shall accept the findings of fact made by the Board unless they are unsupported by substantial evidence of record, and shall adopt the recommended disposition of the Board unless to do so would foster a tendency toward inconsistent dispositions for comparable conduct or would otherwise be unwarranted.

Id. See also In re Hutchinson, 534 A.2d 919, 924 (D.C.1987) (en banc). We conclude that the Board's findings are supported by substantial evidence in the record and that the Board's recommended sanction is warranted and is not inconsistent with previous dispositions for comparable conduct. See In re Kerr, 611 A.2d 551 (D.C.1992); In re Thompson, 538 A.2d 247 (D.C.1987); In re Hutchinson, supra.

Accordingly, Willard C. McBride is hereby suspended from the practice of law in the District of Columbia for one year, nunc pro tunc to March 7, 1989. In view of the aberrational nature of respondent's misconduct, the remorse expressed by him for the misconduct, and his otherwise exemplary record, the court will not require respondent to furnish proof of rehabilitation as a condition of reinstatement pursuant to D.C.Bar R. XI, ž 3(a)(2) (1993).

So ordered.

ATTACHMENT

APPENDIX

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS

BOARD ON PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

In the Matter of

WILLARD C. McBRIDE,

Respondent

Bar Docket Number: 394-88

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE BOARD ON PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY

On August 31, 1988, Respondent pled guilty to, and was convicted of a misdemeanor for violating 18 U.S.C. ž 1028(a)(4), i.e., willfully and knowingly aiding and abetting Patricia Shahid in the possession and use of an identification document in order fraudulently to induce the issuance of a United States passport. On March 7, 1989, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ordered Respondent suspended from the practice of law because he had been convicted of a "serious crime" within the meaning of D.C.App.R. XI, ž 10(b). A division of the Court subsequently concluded that Respondent's criminal violation inherently involved moral turpitude and ordered his permanent disbarment. In re McBride, 578 A.2d 1102, 1103 (D.C.1990). This decision was later overturned by the en banc Court, which held for the first time that misdemeanor offenses can never be crimes that inherently involve moral turpitude, In re McBride, 602 A.2d 626 (D.C.1992) (en banc), and remanded the matter for the Board to determine whether, under the circumstances, moral turpitude was involved in Respondent's behavior.

Thereafter, the Board referred the case to a hearing committee to consider whether Respondent's conduct constituted a crime of moral turpitude. The Board's order permitted Bar Counsel to file a petition charging specific disciplinary rule violations. Bar Counsel filed such a petition but did not allege that Respondent's acts constituted moral turpitude. Instead, on June 22, 1992, Bar Counsel charged Respondent with violating Disciplinary Rule 1-102(A)(4), engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation. Respondent's answer admitted that he violated DR 1-102(A)(4).

Following an evidentiary hearing, Hearing Committee Number One recommended that Respondent be suspended for six months, nunc pro tunc to his March 7, 1989 suspension. Neither Bar Counsel nor Respondent challenges the Hearings Committee's recommendation.

FACTS

The Board accepts the factual findings contained in the Recommendation of the Hearing Committee (pp. 6-12), which are essentially as follows:

Respondent, now age 74, has been a member of this Bar since 1954, and prior to this incident had never been the subject of a disciplinary or criminal investigation. For 28 years, he served as an attorney at the Department of Justice, specializing in the prosecution of tax crimes. Upon his retirement in 1983, he became a sole practitioner, devoting most of his time to pro bono work for the aged, the poor, and the infirm.

Mrs. Patricia Shahid, an immigrant from Pakistan, was one of Mr. McBride's pro bono clients. Mrs. Shahid sought to change her immigration status from visitor to resident alien so that she and her children could settle here. To complete the change in her immigration status, Mrs. Shahid was required to return to Pakistan, her country of origin.

Shortly before her departure, Mrs. Shahid became fearful that some bureaucratic snag would arise and prevent her from returning to the United States. She was particularly frightened because her former husband lived in Pakistan, and he had been physically abusive. In a state of panic, Ms. Shahid pleaded with Respondent to help her obtain a United States passport with which she could reenter this country in the event that her immigration status was not approved.

Mrs. Shahid convinced Respondent to help her obtain a passport using the birth certificate of Kathy Williams, another of Respondent's pro bono clients and Mrs. Shahid's neighbor. Respondent accompanied Mrs. Shahid to the passport office where she presented herself as Ms. Williams and used the birth certificate, which she had obtained from Respondent, to apply for the passport. Respondent assisted her by signing a false statement indicating that Mrs. Shahid was in fact Ms. Williams. When Respondent and Mrs. Shahid returned to the passport office, they were arrested. Eventually, Respondent pled guilty to aiding and abetting Mrs. Shahid in violation of 18 U.S.C. žž 2, 1028(a)(4), and 1028(b)(3). In sentencing Respondent to 100 hours of community service, U.S. Magistrate Judge Jean Dwyer said that, he had "let his heart carry his head," thus causing him to commit this single "aberrational" act.

During his suspension, Respondent continued his voluntary (now non-legal) community service, which included continuing to help Mrs. Shahid with her day-to-day affairs. Though he could no longer work as an attorney, Respondent kept abreast of new legal developments and worked as a law clerk for several area attorneys. On the basis of the foregoing facts, the Hearing Committee recommended that Respondent be suspended for six months, retroactive to March 7, 1989, and that he not be required to demonstrate fitness to practice as a condition of his reinstatement to the bar.

DISCUSSION

I. Moral Turpitude

Although the hearing committee found an absence of moral turpitude, it did not discuss its reasoning, probably because Bar Counsel did not allege that Respondent had committed a crime of moral turpitude. Nevertheless, we believe the question is before us and that some discussion is warranted. The Court of Appeals' opinion specifically remanded the case for consideration of the moral turpitude issue, and we are required to consider the issue even if Bar Counsel does not raise it.

According to In re Colson, 412 A.2d 1160 (D.C.1979), conduct encompasses moral turpitude if it offends the generally accepted moral code of mankind. An act may also involve moral turpitude if it is base, vile or depraved, Id. at 1168 (quoting 2 Bouv. Law Dictionary 2247 (Rawles Third Revision)), or if it is contrary to justice, honesty, modesty, or good morals. Id. (quoting Black's Law Dictionary 1160 (4th ed. 1951). Moral turpitude has commonly been interpreted as intentionally acting dishonestly for personal gain. E.g., In re Shorter, 570 A.2d 760, 765 (D.C.App.1990); In re Kent, 467 A.2d 982, 984 (D.C.App.1983).

In this case, Respondent's acts were not motivated by a desire for personal gain. And, although his acts may be legally and ethically blameworthy, they cannot be said to be depraved or vile. See Shorter, 570 A.2d at 767. In contrast, those cases where conduct was found to involve moral turpitude have usually involved far more serious ethical breaches that have harmed others, i.e., outright embezzlement of client funds, In re Wade, 526 A.2d 936 (D.C.1987), and obstruction of justice by defaming the parties to a criminal proceeding, In re Colson, 412 A.2d at 1168. Respondent's conduct harmed no one and, although misguided, was intended to...