Neal v. Wilson

• Decision Date: 18 March 1996
• Docket Number: Civil No. H-C-95-54.
• Parties: James A. NEAL, as Executive Director of the Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, Plaintiff, v. Jimmie L. WILSON, Defendant. Jimmie L. WILSON, Plaintiff, v. Jack HOLT, Jr., Robert H. Dudley, Tom Glaze, and Donald Corbin, Members of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, John Lineberger, Chancery Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Arkansas; James Neal, Director of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct; the Members of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct; Robert Donovan, Attorney for the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct; John Doe Defendants and other unknown, each individually and in his official capacity as set out herein, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Arkansas

920 F. Supp. 976

James A. NEAL, as Executive Director of the Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, Plaintiff, v. Jimmie L. WILSON, Defendant.

Jimmie L. WILSON, Plaintiff, v. Jack HOLT, Jr., Robert H. Dudley, Tom Glaze, and Donald Corbin, Members of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas, John Lineberger, Chancery Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Arkansas; James Neal, Director of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct; the Members of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct; Robert Donovan, Attorney for the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct; John Doe Defendants and other unknown, each individually and in his official capacity as set out herein, Defendants.

Civil No. H-C-95-54.

United States District Court, E.D. Arkansas, Western Division.

March 18, 1996.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Angela S. Jegley, Attorney General's Office, State of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR, for James A. Neal.

Roy C. Lewellen, Lewellen & Associates, Marianna, AR, John W. Walker, John W. Walker, P.A., Little Rock, AR, Sam Whitfield, Attorney at Law, Helena, AR, Elliott Dion Wilson, Wilson & Associates, Helena, AR, George E. Hairston, Attorney at Law, New York City, Victor Lamont Hill, Attorney at Law, Helena, AR, for Jimmie L. Wilson.

James W. Jeans, Sr., Attorney at Law, Platte City, MO, for Jack Holt, Jr, Robert H. Dudley, Tom Glaze and Donald Corbin.

Angela S. Jegley, Attorney General's Office, Little Rock, AR, for John Lineberger and Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

H. FRANKLIN WATERS, Chief Judge.

This is a case in which the justice system of Arkansas, represented by the lawyers and the judiciary of this state, has not done itself proud. The long, tortured, and torturous route of this case through the courts of Arkansas, both state and federal, over many long years has ended up about where it started. In this court's view, this has resulted from the numerous lawyers in this case manipulating the system so as to derail it and bring this case to the stalemate that presently exists. The court also believes that the record reflects that the judiciary is not entirely blameless in allowing this to happen.

Although the conduct of Mr. Jimmie L. Wilson which will be described in detail below apparently occurred in 1981 and 1982, and although this case was filed in the Circuit Court of Phillips County in October of 1991, this matter has gone virtually nowhere during the intervening years. Sadly, when this court ends this portion of the matter as it intends to do and places the case back on course, it will be sitting virtually at the same point on the course where it started.

Background.

As indicated, this all started in 1981 and 1982 when Jimmie L. Wilson, an African-American lawyer, farmer, state legislator, and civil rights activist from the Mississippi River delta region of Eastern Arkansas at or near Helena, stole money from the United States by scheming to sell mortgaged property and by withdrawing funds for unauthorized purposes by lying about the intended use of such funds. His conduct is described in United States v. Wilson, 806 F.2d 171 (8th Cir.1986), an opinion resulting from his first appeal of a conviction by a jury, thusly:

Defendant practices law and operates a farm in Helena, Arkansas. Between February 1980 and April 1982 he borrowed approximately $775,230.00 from the FmHA for farm operating expenses with the loans primarily secured by an FmHA lien on his crops. To insure compliance with the security agreement entered into at the time of the loans, the FmHA circulated defendant's name on a list of FmHA borrowers to the grain dryers in the region of his farm. The grain dryers would then properly issue checks to defendant and the FmHA as co-payees as payment for crops transported from the farm.

Between 1981 and December 1982, defendant made multiple sales of grain in the names of Willie Weaver and Reggie Wilson. Willie Weaver, defendant's cousin and co-defendant below, worked as a farm manager for defendant. Reggie Wilson is defendant's son and is a student, not engaged in farming. The government presented evidence that the proceeds from the sales made by Weaver and the junior Wilson, which were issued clear of the FmHA lien, went variously into defendant's law firm account, to cash, into his farm expense account, or toward payment on a bill for farm supplies.

In May 1981, the FmHA required that supervised joint bank account be established in the names of the FmHA and defendant and his wife, Henrietta. FmHA loan proceeds were to be deposited into the joint account, and defendant was required to advise the FmHA of his intended use of funds prior to the time of any withdrawal. On various occasions, defendant would apply to the FmHA to have funds transferred from the joint account to his farm operating account from which he would retransfer the money to his law firm account. A substantial portion of funds was used for the purchase and maintenance of a Mercedes Benz.

Id. at 173.

In that decision and a prior decision later vacated by the court, the Court of Appeals held that the Supreme Court decision in Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) did not apply retroactively.¹ Subsequently, in Griffith v. Kentucky, 479 U.S. 314, 107 S.Ct. 708, 93 L.Ed.2d 649 (1987) the United States Supreme Court held that, indeed, Batson should be applied retroactively. The Court of Appeals then vacated its prior decisions, United States v. Wilson, 815 F.2d 52 (8th Cir.1987), and remanded the matter to the trial court to determine whether the requirements of Batson had been violated.

Judge G. Thomas Eisele held a hearing and determined that the government had adequately met the test required by Batson by showing that there were other legitimate non-discriminatory reasons for the prosecutor having exercised his peremptory challenges² to exclude certain black members of the jury panel from serving on the case. The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit took the matter en banc and ruled, 7-4, that Judge Eisele's decision was clearly erroneous and that, in fact, the requirements of Batson had been violated. The conviction was reversed. United States v. Wilson, 884 F.2d 1121 (8th Cir.1989).

In August of 1990 a plea bargain agreement was reached and Mr. Wilson, on August 22, 1990, appeared before Judge Stephen Reasoner and pled guilty to an information charging him with five misdemeanor counts involving essentially the same conduct for which he had been initially convicted as a result of the felony indictment returned by the grand jury. In pleading guilty to these charges, it appears that he admitted essentially the same conduct as was charged in the felony indictment. See pages 19-21 of the transcript of the sentencing hearing which was attached to the initial complaint filed in this case in state court. He was sentenced to a period of incarceration.

On January 10, 1991, Judge G. Thomas Eisele entered an order in behalf of the entire court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, reciting that, with all judges of the court concurring,³ Mr. Wilson was immediately suspended from the practice of law in the Eastern District of Arkansas "until final disposition of any disciplinary proceedings commenced as a result of any such conviction." Judge Eisele, again acting for the entire court, by letter dated January 10, 1991, to James A. Neal, executive director of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct, advised the committee of Mr. Wilson's conviction, and advised that he was referring the matter to the committee "for the institution of a disciplinary proceeding before the court in which the sole issue to be determined shall be the extent of the final disposition to be imposed as a result of the conduct resulting in the conviction." (quoting from Rule I-D of the Model Federal Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement adopted by the court's for the Eastern District of Arkansas.)

Mr. Neal advised Mr. Wilson by letter dated March 29, 1991, of the institution of the proceedings against him, and advised him of his right to respond to the charges. An attorney entered an appearance for him and made multiple requests for an extension of the time required to respond to the charges. One extension was granted, but subsequent attempts were denied by a letter to Mr. Wilson's attorney dated June 10, 1991, in which Mr. Neal explained that he had consulted with Mr. Eddie Walker,⁴ the committee chairman, who had instructed him to deny the request for an additional extension. Mr. Wilson made no response to the charges, and by letter dated July 22, 1991, he was notified that it was "the unanimous decision of the Committee that your conduct in this matter violated the Model Rules of Professional Conduct" and that a disbarment proceeding would be instituted in the event that Mr. Wilson had not voluntarily relinquished his license to practice law in Arkansas within seven days from the receipt of the letter.

On October 9, 1991, a lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Phillips County, Arkansas, seeking his disbarment. Subsequently, the regular judges for that circuit recused for cause and, months later, on February 21, 1992, the Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court appointed Judge Lance Hanshaw from Lonoke, Arkansas, in another judicial circuit, to preside in the case.

The case rocked along with numerous continuances being requested and granted until June 19, 1992, when Judge Hanshaw wrote the attorneys for the parties advising that he would deny Mr. Wilson's motion to dismiss the complaint and would grant the motion for summary judgment filed in behalf of the committee. In that letter he said that: "The Defendant's license to practice law is suspended for a period of two (2) years and he shall surrender his license to practice law effective August 1, 1992, and further comply with Rule 11...