Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Yoder, 45855

Decision Date14 January 1963
Docket NumberNo. 45855,45855
PartiesLOUISIANA STATE BAR ASSOCIATION v. Henry F. YODER.
CourtLouisiana Supreme Court

A. Leon Hebert, Baton Rouge, John Pat. Little, New Orleans, Walter G. Arnette, Jennings, A. K. Goff, Jr., Ruston, Pat. W. Browne, Sr., New Orleans, for petitioner.

G. Harrison Scott, New Orleans, for respondent.

FOURNET, Chief Justice.

The court's Committee on Professional Ethics and Grievances instituted this proceeding against Henry F. Yoder, an attorney practicing in New Orleans, Louisiana, under the original jurisdiction vested in us by Section 10 of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, seeking his disbarment on charges of professional and ethical misconduct.

After the committee's investigation of numerous complaints lodged against him, the respondent was advised by registered letter dated June 1, 1961, it would grant him a full hearing on seventeen specifications as set out in the letter, and, after such hearing, the committee filed a petition--to which it attached and made a part the letter of June 1, 1961--in which it alleged it had concluded unamimously the respondent had been guilty of the misconduct set out in Specifications Nos. 4, 5, 11, 12, and 14, but reserved its right to proceed further in proof of his alleged misconduct as set forth in the remaining specifications.

After issue was joined by the respondent's answer, which is, in effect, a general denial of the charges as set out in the seventeen specifications, this court appointed the Honorable James H. Drury, an attorney of New Orleans, as the Commissioner to take the evidence and report his findings of fact and conclusions of law in accordance with the procedure set out in the rules adopted by this court pursuant to our constitutional authority in such matters. 1

During the course of the hearings before the Commissioner, the committee filed a supplemental petition setting out sixteen additional specifications as further grounds of misconduct warranting disbarment, which charges were also given a full hearing by the Commissioner, who rendered his report and findings with respect to all thirty-three charges on June 15, 1962.

In this report the Commissioner took the position that although the committee had, in its first petition, specifically reserved its right to proceed further with respect to proving the misconduct set out in some twelve of the original seventeen specifications, it had, in effect, abandoned them. 2 In so far as specifications Nos. 4, 5, 11, 12, 14, and the sixteen additional specifications set out in the supplemental petition were concerned, the Commissioner found the defendant guilty on eleven of these counts, 3 and not guilty on ten. 4

The respondent did not except to the Commissioner's report within twenty days from the time of its filing, as required under the rules, and the Commissioner's findings of fact and conclusions of law stand confirmed and have become final as to him in so far as the eleven counts on which he was found to be guilty are concerned. Louisiana State Bar Association v. Woods, 243 La. 94, 141 So.2d 828; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Wheeler, 243 La. 618, 145 So.2d 774. However, the committee did timely except to the report in those instances in which the Commissioner found the defendant to be not guilty of the specifications alleged, as being contrary to the facts and evidence and not wellfounded in law, although no mention is made of the Commissioner's ruling with respect to the committee's abandonment of the twelve specifications set out in Footnote No. 2.

As pointed out in his report, the conduct of the defendant as reflected by the evidence adduced in establishing his guilt on eleven specifications disclose he acted 'To the detriment of his clients and to others with whom he was dealing, whether they were clients or not; he cancelled mortgages by notarial acts without having the notes; he paraphed notes without mortgages in conjunction therewith; he used duplicate notes executed by the same makers and transferred them for consideration; he took advantage of fellow attorneys with whom he had prior dealings, said advantage being taken under note transactions; he admitted executing checks when he did not have the funds to have the checks honored; he represented to two individuals, one of whom was a close friend having been his roommate in the Marine Corps during the years 1942, 1943, and 1944 * * * that he was the owner of certain lots in New Orleans and that he would sell said lots to them for the sum of $4,500.00 plus costs, and convinced them...

To continue reading

Request your trial
5 cases
  • Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Edwins
    • United States
    • Louisiana Supreme Court
    • 23 February 1976
    ...La. 7, 184 So.2d 537 (1966); Louisiana State Bar Association v. Powell, 248 La. 237, 178 So.2d 235 (1965); Louisiana State Bar Association v. Youder, 243 La. 909, 148 So.2d 597 (1963); Louisiana State Bar Association v. Wheeler, 243 La. 618, 145 So.2d 774 (1962), and Louisiana State Bar Ass......
  • State v. Johnson
    • United States
    • Louisiana Supreme Court
    • 26 October 1972
    ...268 So.2d 620 ... 263 La. 462 ... STATE of Louisiana ... Alvin JOHNSON ... No. 52550 ... Supreme Court of Louisiana ... Oct ... ...
  • Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Klein
    • United States
    • Louisiana Supreme Court
    • 20 January 1969
    ...v. Haylon, 250 La. 651, 198 So.2d 391; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Woods, 243 La. 94, 141 So.2d 828; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Yoder, 243 La. 909, 148 So.2d 597; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Wheeler, 243 La. 618, 145 So.2d 774, cert. denied 373 U.S. 933, 83 S.Ct. 1537,......
  • Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Haylon
    • United States
    • Louisiana Supreme Court
    • 1 May 1967
    ...v. Woods, 243 La. 94, 141 So.2d 828; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Wheeler, 243 La. 618, 145 So.2d 774; Louisiana State Bar Association v. Yoder, 243 La. 909, 148 So.2d 597. The Commissioner stated in his report that respondent, while practicing law in the City of New Orleans, was empl......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT