Matter of McCallum, 49037.

• Decision Date: 18 January 1980
• Docket Number: No. 49037.,49037.
• Citation: 289 NW 2d 146
• Parties: In the Matter of the Application for the Discipline of William B. McCALLUM, an Attorney at Law of the State of Minnesota.
• Court: Minnesota Supreme Court

289 N.W.2d 146 (1980)

In the Matter of the Application for the Discipline of William B. McCALLUM, an Attorney at Law of the State of Minnesota.

No. 49037.

Supreme Court of Minnesota.

January 18, 1980.

Michael J. Hoover, Administrative Director on Professional Conduct, St. Paul, for appellant.

William B. McCallum, pro se.

Allen Saeks, Minneapolis, for respondent.

Heard, considered, and decided by the court en banc.

PER CURIAM.

The Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board (the board) has brought this disciplinary action against respondent, William B. McCallum, an attorney at law, charging him with failure to timely file his personal income tax returns for the years 1974 and 1975 and neglect in the handling of certain estates and guardianships.

Respondent is 49 years old. He was admitted to the Minnesota bar on October 27, 1958, and currently practices law in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Respondent did not file his state personal income tax returns for the years 1974 and 1975 until the summer of 1977. In November 1977, respondent pleaded guilty to charges that he violated the income tax laws of the state of Minnesota by filing late personal income tax returns for 1974 and 1975. Respondent was fined $600 and sentenced to serve 120 days in the workhouse. Imposition of the sentence was stayed for a year subject to certain terms and conditions.

In addition to charging that respondent delayed in filing his personal income tax returns, the petition of the board charges that respondent neglected matters entrusted to him as administrator of the estate of a deceased relative, as attorney for the estate of another deceased relative, and as guardian of the incompetent and minor children of one of the decedents.

Respondent and the board have entered into a stipulation pursuant to which respondent has admitted the facts contained in the allegations of the petition, and the board has recommended that this court place respondent on supervised probation for a period of 5 years.

In In re Bunker, 294 Minn. 47, 199 N.W.2d 628 (1972), we said that the appropriate sanction for an attorney's failure to file personal income tax returns is suspension or disbarment. We noted, however, that "the alternative of granting probation is still reserved by this court in the future, but it will be allowed in only the most extreme, extenuating circumstances * * *." 294 Minn. at 55, 199 N.W.2d at 632. There are circumstances sufficient to justify probation as a sanction in this case.

The record establishes that respondent became ill while on a visit to Mexico in 1962. Although he consulted many physicians, the disease was not properly diagnosed or treated until July 1977. In the interim, its symptoms prevented respondent from functioning professionally or socially and precipitated a severe depressive reaction. The medical evidence amply demonstrates that respondent's illness and ensuing depression were major causes of...