Lee, In re, 973S194
| Citation | 262 Ind. 439,317 N.E.2d 444 |
| Decision Date | 17 October 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 973S194,973S194 |
| Parties | In the Matter of Clifford Taylor LEE. |
| Court | Supreme Court of Indiana |
John B. Ramming, Executive Secretary, Disciplinary Commission, Indianapolis, for Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
This is a disciplinary proceeding. The respondent is charged with the violation of his oath as an attorney admitted to the bar of this state and with the violation of Disciplinary Rules 1--102(A)(3), (4), (5), and (6) of the Code of Professional Responsibility of Attorneys at Law. We have before us the verified complaint for disciplinary action, the findings of fact and recommendation of the hearing officer, and the petition and supporting memorandum for review of recommendations of the hearing officer filed by the Disciplinary Commission. Except as hereafter stated, the respondent filed no response to the complaint and did not appear, either in person or by counsel, at the hearing.
This Court being fully advised in the premises now approves the findings of fact which, in substance, disclose that in February, 1972, the respondent was indicted by the Grand Jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on four counts of forging government transportation requests, with four counts of uttering the same and with two counts of obtaining property by false pretenses. The offenses occurred while he was employed as a staff attorney in the Office of the Solicitor of the United States Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. He was tried by jury on a plea of not guilty upon all counts. Thereafter, the respondent appealed his convictions to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals of the Fourth Circuit, which affirmed the convictions.
Following the first filing of findings and recommendations by the hearing officer, which were subsequently withdrawn, the respondent mailed to the hearing officer certain biographical data which, among other things, reflected that the respondent was a disadvantaged child and youth who rose above his economic environment, acquired a formal legal education and held professional positions of responsibility. It is the hearing officer's recommendation that the respondent be suspended from the practice of law for a period of four years pursuant to Admission and Discipline Rule 23(3) subject to reinstatement upon satisfaction of the requirements of Admission and Discipline Rule 23(4). In the opinion of the hearing officer, the objective of disciplining attorneys should be their rehabilitation and not vengeance; and it is his opinion that in view of the respondent's circumstances, permanent disbarment requested by the Disciplinary Commission would be excessive.
We cannot accept the recommendations of the hearing officer. We view our primary responsibility in admission and discipline matters as that of guarding the public against incompetent and unscrupulous professionals. In such matters, we have three considerations that follow in sequence. First is the guilt or innocence of the respondent. If there is a determination of guilt, then we must determine the risk, if any, to which we will subject the public by permitting him to continue in the profession or to be reinstated at some future date. In making this determination, it...
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Perry v. Barnard
...Trust Co., 220 Ind. 202, 41 N.E.2d 140 (1942). The third case is a disciplinary proceeding against an attorney. See In re Lee, 262 Ind. 439, 317 N.E.2d 444 (1974). Perry argues that since the Indiana state courts restrict the practice of law to licensed attorneys, evidenced by the cited cas......
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Belsher, In re
...system. See In re of Evinger, 604 P.2d 844 (Okla.1979); In re Florida Bd. of Bar Examiners, 358 So.2d 7 (Fla.1978); In re Lee, 262 Ind. 439, 317 N.E.2d 444 (1974); Goetz v. Harrison, 154 Mont. 274, 462 P.2d (1969). Therefore, in light of the common purpose underlying both reinstatement and ......
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Fletcher, Matter of
...in admission and discipline matters is to protect the public against incompetent and unscrupulous professionals. In re Lee (1974), 262 Ind. 439, 441, 317 N.E.2d 444, 445. It is the province of this Court to determine what acts constitute the practice of law. In re Perrello (1979), 270 Ind. ......
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Wood, Matter of
...and the deterrent effect the imposition of discipline has on the Bar in general. In re Noel (1976), Ind., 350 N.E.2d 623; In re Lee (1974), 262 Ind. 439, 317 N.E.2d 444. From an examination of the matters submitted n this cause, it does appear that the above discussed female clients freely ......