Iowa Supreme Court Bd. of Professional Ethics & Conduct v. Doughty, 98-1771
Decision Date | 21 January 1999 |
Docket Number | No. 98-1771,98-1771 |
Citation | 588 N.W.2d 119 |
Parties | . H. Reed DOUGHTY, Respondent. Supreme Court of Iowa |
Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Norman G. Bastemeyer, Charles L. Harrington, and David J. Grace, Des Moines, for complainant.
Gary M. Lane, Davenport, and Michael W. Liebbe, Davenport, for respondent.
Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and LARSON, LAVORATO, SNELL, and CADY, JJ.
H. Reed Doughty, the respondent in this disciplinary case, was admitted to the bar in 1964 and has practiced in Davenport, Iowa, since 1990. He failed to file federal and Iowa income tax returns from 1985 through 1995 and pled guilty to federal misdemeanor charges involving four of those years. He served time under a federal sentence. We do not know the status of any state charges.
The respondent was temporarily suspended by this court on September 12, 1997, under Court Rule 118.14 ( ). Following a hearing, our grievance commission recommended the respondent's license be suspended for a minimum of eighteen months from the date of his temporary suspension, and we adopt that recommendation.
The facts are undisputed. The commission found the respondent has been very open and frank in the disciplinary proceedings and found him to be a respected member of the bar. We believe the record bears that out. The respondent cooperated fully in the investigation of this case. Nevertheless, as the commission noted, discipline is necessary to deter similar conduct by others and to maintain the reputation of the bar as a whole. See Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Blomker, 379 N.W.2d 19, 21 (Iowa 1985). The respondent's failure to file income tax returns violates DR 1-102(A)(3) and (4) (lawyers shall not engage in illegal conduct involving moral turpitude and shall not engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation).
We have imposed sanctions ranging from sixty days to three years in cases involving attorneys who have failed to file income tax returns. See, e.g., Iowa Sup. Ct. Bd. of Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Runge, 588 N.W.2d 116, 117 (Iowa 1999) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Baudino, 452 N.W.2d 455, 460 (Iowa 1990) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. McMillen, 449 N.W.2d 339, 341 (Iowa 1989) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Jay, 430 N.W.2d 115, 118 (Iowa 1988) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Cook, 409 N.W.2d 469, 471 (Iowa 1987) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Matias, 397 N.W.2d 514, 516 (Iowa 1986) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Crawford, 351 N.W.2d 530, 532 (Iowa 1984) ( ); Committee on Prof'l Ethics & Conduct v. Wagener, 251 N.W.2d 482, 482 (Iowa 1977) (...
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