Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Baldwin

• Citation: 225 A.3d 817
• Decision Date: 19 February 2020
• Docket Number: No. 2587 Disciplinary Docket No. 3,Attorney Registration No. 32119 (Allegheny County),2587 Disciplinary Docket No. 3
• Parties: OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL, Petitioner v. Cynthia A. BALDWIN, Respondent
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

225 A.3d 817

OFFICE OF DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL, Petitioner

v.Cynthia A. BALDWIN, Respondent

No. 2587 Disciplinary Docket No. 3

Attorney Registration No. 32119 (Allegheny County)

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Argued/Submitted September 10, 2019

Decided February 19, 2020

Julia Michelle Frankston-Morris, Esq., pro se.

Laura K. Mohney, Esq., pro se.

Paul J. Killion, Esq., Angelea Allen Mitas, Esq., Samuel Frank Napoli, Esq., Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of PA, for Petitioner.

Charles A. DeMonaco, Esq., Robert Steven Tintner, Esq., Jana Volante Walshak, Esq., Fox Rothschild LLP, for Respondent.

SAYLOR, C.J., BAER, TODD, DONOHUE, DOUGHERTY, WECHT, MUNDY, JJ.

OPINION

JUSTICE DONOHUE

In this matter, we consider the request of the Petitioner, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel ("ODC"), to impose discipline in the form of a public censure on Respondent, Cynthia A. Baldwin ("Respondent"),¹ in connection with her representation of Pennsylvania State University ("Penn State") and three of its administrators during grand jury proceedings investigating matters relating to child abuse accusations against Gerald A. Sandusky ("Sandusky"), a former assistant football coach at Penn State. On November 21, 2017, the ODC filed a Petition for Discipline against the Respondent, charging her with violations of Rules 1.1, 1.6(a), 1.7(a) and 8.4(d) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct relating to her joint representation of Timothy Curley ("Curley"), Penn State's Athletic Director, Gary Schultz ("Schultz"), Penn State's former Senior Vice-President for Finance and Business, and Graham Spanier ("Spanier"), Penn State's president (collectively "Individual Clients") as well as Penn State (collectively with Individual Clients, the "Clients"). In its findings and recommendations, the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ("Disciplinary Board") concluded that Respondent "failed to protect her clients' right to competent counsel and entitlement to unfettered loyalty, which serious misconduct contributed to criminal charges against her clients, and ultimately caused certain charges to be quashed, thereby prejudicing the administration of justice." Disciplinary Board's Report and Recommendations, 3/18/2019, at 48 (hereinafter, the "Disciplinary Board Report"). The Disciplinary Board recommended discipline in the form of a public censure by this Court. We impose discipline in the form of a public reprimand.

I. Scope and Standard of Review

This Court recently reiterated its scope and standard of review in disciplinary proceedings:

Our Court conducts de novo review of all attorney disciplinary matters; however, "the findings of the Hearing Committee and the Board are guidelines for judging the credibility of witnesses and should be given substantial deference." [ Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Cappuccio, 616 Pa. 439, 48 A.3d 1231, 1236 (2012) ]. In attorney disciplinary proceedings, the ODC bears the burden of proof of establishing an attorney's misconduct by a preponderance of the evidence. Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Preski , 635 Pa. 220, 134 A.3d 1027, 1031 (2016). Because discipline "is imposed on a case-by-case basis, we must consider the totality of facts presented, including any aggravating or mitigating factors." Id. However, even though each attorney disciplinary matter must be resolved according to its unique facts and circumstances, our Court nevertheless endeavors to maintain consistency in disciplinary matters "so that similar misconduct is not punished in radically different ways." Id. (quoting Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Lucarini , 504 Pa. 271, 472 A.2d 186, 190 (1983) (internal quotation marks omitted)).

Office of Disciplinary Counsel v. Pozonsky , 644 Pa. 537, 177 A.3d 830, 838 (2018). Our de novo review requires a review of the voluminous record presented to the Disciplinary Board in this case, including the transcripts of testimony provided at the evidentiary hearing before the Hearing Committee of the Disciplinary Board ("Hearing Committee") on ODC's allegations of rules violations against Respondent. The disciplinary record also contains the exhibits admitted by the parties before the Hearing Committee (all entered into evidence pursuant to a stipulation of the parties, N.T., 5/22/2018, at 11-12). These exhibits include, inter alia, a large number of grand jury materials (including transcripts of relevant testimony before the grand jury, subpoenas issued by the grand jury, and findings of fact and presentments of the grand jury),² transcripts and legal opinions of the Court of Common Pleas of Dauphin County and the subsequent opinions of the Superior Court³ in the appeals from the Dauphin County court's decision relating to criminal charges filed against Curley, Schultz and Spanier, and the Freeh Report.⁴

II. Factual and Procedural History

A. Grand Jury Presentment

The facts underlying the ODC's Petition for Discipline against the Respondent are ultimately intertwined with Presentment No. 29, issued by the Thirty-Third Statewide Investigating Grand Jury on October 26, 2012 (hereinafter, the "Grand Jury Presentment"). We provide this summary of facts to provide context for our discussion and analysis of these disciplinary proceedings.

In 2009, the Office of Attorney General ("OAG") presented allegations of Sandusky's repeated sexual abuse of children to a statewide investigating grand jury. Of relevance here, the ensuing investigation uncovered two instances of abuse that took place on the Penn State campus, one in 1998 and a second in 2001.

The 1998 incident involved an eleven-year-old boy. Grand Jury Presentment at 6. Sandusky took the victim to the East Area Locker Room on Penn State's campus, where they wrestled and then used exercise machines. Id. Sandusky then insisted that they shower together. Id. Sandusky put his arms around the victim and squeezed him, making the boy very uncomfortable. Id. When Sandusky took the victim home, his mother asked why his hair was wet and became concerned upon learning of the joint shower. Id. The next morning, she filed a report with the University Police Department. Id. Centre County Children and Youth Services were also notified, but it referred the case to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, citing a conflict of interest due to its involvement with the Second Mile Foundation, a charity established by Sandusky in the 1970's that focused on assisting boys between the ages of eight and eighteen. Id. at 7.

Tom Harmon was the Chief of Police of the University Police Department in 1998.⁵ As his department's investigation proceeded, Chief Harmon kept Schultz, who oversaw the University Police Department as part of his administrative position at Penn State, updated on its progress. Id. at 8. Schultz, in turn, kept Curley and Spanier apprised of the investigation's progress, primarily through email messages. Id. at 9. On June 9, 1998, Schultz sent Curley an email, on which Spanier was copied, informing him that the Centre County District Attorney had decided not to pursue criminal charges against Sandusky. Id. at 10. The police report of the investigation was not filed in the usual location. Instead, it was assigned an administrative number, which made it difficult, if not impossible, to access the report without that number. Id. at 11.

The Grand Jury Presentment also reported that in 2001, Michael McQueary, then a graduate assistant for the football team, witnessed Sandusky with a young boy in a locker room shower on the University's main campus. Id. at 12. McQueary reported this incident to head football coach Joseph V. Paterno, id. at 13, who testified to the grand jury that McQueary described Sandusky as fondling or doing something of a sexual nature to a young boy in the shower. Id. Paterno further testified that in turn he relayed this information to Schultz and Curley. Id. at 14. Seven to ten days later, Schultz and Curley met with McQueary. Id. at 16. McQueary told the grand jury that he described to Schultz and Curley the sexual nature of what he had witnessed. Id.

Schultz then decided upon a plan that involved three parts. First, Curley would meet with Sandusky, tell him that they were aware of the 1998 incident, advise him to seek professional help, and prohibit him from ever again bringing boys into campus facilities. Id. at 15-16. Second, the chair of Second Mile would be notified. Id. And third, the matter would again be reported to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare for investigation, as had been done in 1998. Id. Curley responded that he would prefer not to report the matter to the public welfare department so long as Sandusky was cooperative with their efforts. Id. at 16-17. Spanier was advised of the modified approach and agreed with the decision not to report the matter to an outside agency. Id. at 17-18. Curley then executed the revised two-part plan, conducting separate meetings with Sandusky and a Second Mile representative. Id. at 18-19.

B. Grand Jury Subpoenas to the Clients

On December 28, 2010, Respondent received a telephone call from the OAG regarding a grand jury investigation of multiple claims of child abuse against Sandusky. N.T. 5/23/18, at 366. The OAG asked Respondent to accept service of four subpoenas (which she later did), one for documents directed to Penn State and three for testimony from Curley, Schultz, and Paterno. Id. at 367. The subpoena duces tecum was directed to Penn State and requested "any and all records pertaining to Jerry Sandusky and incidents reported to have occurred on or about March 2002, and any other information concerning Jerry Sandusky and inappropriate contact with underage males both on and off University property. Response shall include any and all correspondence directed to or regarding Jerry Sandusky." Subpoena No. 1179, Attachment. The subpoenas to Curley, Schultz and Paterno⁶ were directed to them personally, without reference to Penn State or their employment titles....