In re Reinstatement of Massey, 98-BR-00001-SCT.
Decision Date | 24 September 1998 |
Docket Number | No. 98-BR-00001-SCT.,98-BR-00001-SCT. |
Citation | 722 So.2d 452 |
Parties | In re Petition for REINSTATEMENT OF David H. MASSEY to Practice Law. |
Court | Mississippi Supreme Court |
James K. Dukes, Hattiesburg, Attorney for Appellant.
Michael B. Martz, Jackson, Attorney for Appellee.
En Banc.
I. INTRODUCTION
¶ 1. This is David H. Massey's third petition for reinstatement to the practice of law. See In Re Petition of David H. Massey for Reinstatement to the Practice of Law, 633 So.2d 452 (Miss.1994) (hereinafter Massey I); In Re Petition of David H. Massey for Reinstatement to the Practice of Law, 670 So.2d 843 (Miss.1996) (hereinafter Massey II). Massey was disbarred in 1990, following his felony conviction for conspiracy to distribute 2,400 methylenedioxymethamphetamine, or "ecstasy", pills and 10 grams of cocaine.
¶ 2. This Court finds that Massey can never demonstrate the requisite moral character to practice law in Mississippi. Therefore, Massey's petition for reinstatement to the practice of law is denied.
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS
¶ 3. The applicable law regarding attorney reinstatement was succinctly set forth in the opinion on Massey's last petition for rehearing. See Massey II, 670 So.2d at 844. Massey has met the other jurisdictional requirements, and his case turns upon whether he has demonstrated the requisite moral character to be reinstated.
This leads to the question of how does a disbarred attorney demonstrate that his moral character has been rehabilitated? This Court has held that Phillips v. Mississippi State Bar, 427 So.2d 1380, 1382 (Miss.1983) (quoting Ex parte Marshall, 165 Miss. 523, 556, 147 So. 791, 798 (1933)).
¶ 4. The record reflects that Massey has volunteered to counsel people about the dangers of drugs, but he has never been called upon to do so. Moreover, although "work[ing] with the segment of society that he harmed by distributing drugs" would be a worthwhile endeavor, it is not the test for whether an attorney has the requisite moral character to be reinstated. "[T]he requirement is only that one seeking reinstatement must lead a correct life." In re Tucker, 656 So.2d 799, 804 (Miss.1995).
¶ 6. Drugs are a scourge to society. Distributing drugs is a crime that demonstrates an extreme disdain for the law and disregard for the welfare of the citizens of our State. A serious lack of moral character is innate to the...
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