IN THE MATTER OF REINSTATEMENT OF PAGE

Decision Date22 June 2004
Docket NumberNo. SCBD-4741,SCBD-4741
PartiesIN THE MATTER OF THE REINSTATEMENT OF WILLIAM C. PAGE TO MEMBERSHIP IN THE OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION AND TO THE ROLL OF ATTORNEYS.
CourtOklahoma Supreme Court

Randy D. Evers, Norman, Oklahoma and Carl Hughes of Hughes & Goodwin, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for petitioner, William C. Page.

Allen J. Welch, Assistant General Counsel, Oklahoma Bar Association, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for respondent, Oklahoma Bar Association.

LAVENDER, J.:

¶ 1 Before us for consideration is petitioner/applicant, William C. Page's, petition for reinstatement to membership in the Oklahoma Bar Association (OBA). The matter is here pursuant to Rule 11 (Reinstatement), Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings (RGDP), 5 O.S.2001, Ch.1, App.1-A, as amended. After de novo review we deny reinstatement.

PART I. STANDARD OF REVIEW AND PERTINENT FACTORS.

¶2 As we set forth more fully in PART II, BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS, infra, applicant resigned from OBA membership pending disciplinary proceedings and after federal felony convictions. The following has been stated concerning reinstatement after disbarment or resignation pending disciplinary proceedings:

When this Court in the exercise of its exclusive jurisdiction considers a petition for reinstatement a de novo standard of review is applied. Matter of Reinstatement of Gassaway, 2002 OK 48, ¶ 3, 48 P.3d 805, 806. Recommendations of a PRT trial panel are merely advisory [Matter of Reinstatement of Kamins, 1988 OK 32, 752 P.2d 1125, 1129] and, although Rule 11.5 (Findings Prerequisite to Reinstatement) requires the PRT to make certain findings as to a petitioner's moral character, competency in the law and whether he/she engaged in any unauthorized law practice during a period of suspension, disbarment or resignation, the ultimate responsibility and decision-making authority as to whether reinstatement is warranted rests with this Court. See Matter of Reinstatement of Smith, 1994 OK 19, 871 P.2d 426, 427.

Moreover, an applicant for reinstatement in petitioner's situation bears the heavy burden of showing, by clear and convincing evidence, that reinstatement is warranted. Matter of Reinstatement of Smith, ... 871 P.2d at 427-428. In regard to a reinstatement application, a petitioner that has resigned his membership in the OBA pending a bar disciplinary proceeding has the same burden as an individual that has been disbarred by this Court. Matter of Reinstatement of Kamins, ... 752 P.2d at 1129. In such a proceeding the applicant is required to present stronger proof of qualifications than one seeking admission to the OBA for the first time. Rule 11.4 (Standard of Proof for Petitions for Reinstatement), RGDP. This Court has also delineated eight factors considered in determining fitness for reinstatement. Matter of Reinstatement of Gassaway, ... 2002 OK 48, at ¶ 3, 48 P.3d at 806. They are: 1) applicant's present moral fitness, (2) demonstrated consciousness of the conduct's wrongfulness and the disrepute it has brought upon the legal profession, (3) the extent of rehabilitation, (4) the original misconduct's seriousness, (5) conduct after resignation, (6) time elapsed since the resignation, (7) applicant's character, maturity and experience when he resigned, and (8) present legal competence. See id.

Matter of Reinstatement of Blevins, 2002 OK 78, ¶¶ 3-4, 59 P.3d 510, 511.

¶3 Furthermore, our cases make clear "that a felony conviction is not tantamount to a death sentence regarding the reinstatement of the license to practice law. Rather, each reinstatement decision is determined on a case-by-case basis, carefully weighing all factors." Matter of Reinstatement of Anderson, 2002 OK 64, ¶ 4, 51 P.3d 581, 583. However, "[w]e have also recognized that the more severe the offense the heavier the burden an applicant must overcome to gain reinstatement . . . ." Matter of Reinstatement of Wright, 1995 OK 128, 907 P.2d 1060, 1062, relying on Matter of Reinstatement of Cantrell, 1989 OK 165, 785 P.2d 312, 314. "Feelings of sympathy towards the applicant must be disregarded." Matter of Reinstatement of Wright, 907 P.2d at 1062. The proof concerning the matter must be sufficient to overcome this Court's former judgment adverse to the applicant. Rule 11.4, RGDP. Further, "[f]oremost consideration must be given to protecting the public welfare. Finally, there must be a determination that reinstatement would not adversely effect the Bar." Matter of Reinstatement of Cantrell, 785 P.2d at 313. Upon consideration of the above factors and after de novo review, we determine the petition for reinstatement to OBA membership should be denied.

PART II. BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS.

¶4 In 1983 we issued an interim suspension of applicant from OBA membership following his federal criminal felony convictions in the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. In December 1987 pending disciplinary proceedings he requested approval of his resignation from the OBA. We approved his resignation in State ex rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Page, 1988 OK 40, 754 P.2d 878, making it effective October 24, 1983, the date of interim suspension. 754 P.2d at 879. A prior reinstatement application was denied in Matter of Reinstatement of Page, 1993 OK 165, 866 P.2d 1207, primarily on the basis of the serious nature of the charges upon which he was convicted.1

¶5 After a jury trial applicant was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and 18 U.S.C. § 1951. The convictions were upheld in United States v. Page (Page I), 808 F.2d 723 (10th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 918 (1987), and that opinion also affirmed denial of a motion for new trial. Denial of another motion for new trial was affirmed in United States v. Page (Page II), 828 F.2d 1476 (10th Ci.1987), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 989 (1987). Applicant "was convicted by a jury of engaging in racketeering activities affecting interstate commerce . . . and of obstructing, delaying, and affecting interstate commerce by means of extortion under color of official right as an assistant district attorney and as a special district judge . . . ." Page I, 808 F.2d at 725.

¶6 The background facts concerning the nature of the conduct for which he was convicted and delineation of some, if not all, of the evidence presented against him in the federal criminal case are set forth in Page I. We deem it unnecessary to repeat at length those background facts and evidence detailed in Page I here. For purposes of this reinstatement application proceeding, as before, "[w]e must accept [the federal] convictions as fact, that during the time he was an assistant district attorney and a special district judge, [he] accepted bribes and conspired to accept bribes in return for interference in pending criminal investigations and litigation. He is convicted of using his office to interfere with the judicial processes of law enforcement." Matter of Reinstatement of Page, 866 P.2d at 1212.

¶7 A hearing was held on this reinstatement petition in November 2002 before a Professional Responsibility Tribunal (PRT) trial panel. The matter of petitioner's current reinstatement request was investigated by the OBA through its Office of General Counsel. Although the OBA, through the General Counsel's Office, has no objection to this Court ordering petitioner's reinstatement — in fact, the OBA requests us to approve reinstatement — the PRT trial panel report filed in January 2003 recommends that reinstatement be denied. The OBA General Counsel's Office and applicant filed separate briefs with this Court in February 2003.

¶8 Applicant is currently seventy-seven (77) years old. At the time of his suspension in 1983 he had been an attorney for about twenty-six (26) years, having been admitted to the bar in 1957. Matter of Reinstatement of Page, 866 P.2d at 1209. His employment as an attorney prior to his 1983 suspension was varied. He worked in private practice, as general counsel for a private company, as a United States Commissioner (now called Magistrate) and two noncontiguous times as an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma County. He was also a special judge in Oklahoma County from late 1981 until January 1983 when he became a District Judge, a position he held until mid-1983.

¶9 The conduct for which he was convicted occurred while he was an assistant district attorney the second time (1980-1981) and while he was a special judge. A review of Matter of Reinstatement of Page and Page I also make plain that applicant was not convicted of some isolated incident of accepting a bribe on one occasion. Instead, the case against him was based on multiple episodes of his accepting bribes from more than one person or attempting to do so, in exchange for fixing or interfering in pending criminal investigations and litigation, in his roles as assistant district attorney or special judge.

¶10 Applicant, as he did in the proceeding culminating in our previous denial of reinstatement in Matter of Reinstatement of Page, maintains his innocence of the charges upon which he was convicted; although the record also reflects he does not desire to re-litigate his criminal convictions through this proceeding. We made it quite clear in Matter of Reinstatement of Page, 866 P.2d at 1211, that an applicant's assertion of innocence, standing alone, is not a bar to reinstatement, but is one of the facts for our consideration in deciding whether reinstatement is appropriate.

¶11 The main obstacle to a favorable decision on applicant's present reinstatement quest remains the same as that existing over ten (10) years ago when he previously applied, to wit: the seriousness of the original misconduct. This is so because the record presented shows he has maintained competency in the law since his resignation, has conducted himself properly and morally over said period of time, and has not engaged in the unauthorized practice of law.2 Further, even though he still...

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