State ex rel. Grievance Committee of Oregon State Bar Ass'n v. Woerndle

• Decision Date: 11 December 1923
• Citation: 109 Or. 461,220 P. 744
• Parties: STATE EX REL. GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE OF OREGON STATE BAR ASS'N ET AL. v. WOERNDLE.
• Court: Oregon Supreme Court

220 P. 744

109 Or. 461

STATE EX REL. GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE OF OREGON STATE BAR ASS'N ET AL. v. WOERNDLE.

Supreme Court of Oregon

December 11, 1923

In banc. Disbarment proceedings by the State of Oregon, on the relation of the Grievance Committee of the Oregon State Bar Association and the Grievance Committee and Chancellors of the Multnomah Bar Association of the State of Oregon, against Joseph Woerndle. Defendant suspended.

See also, 209 P. 604.

Bradley A. Ewers and Elton Watkins, both of Portland, for plaintiff.

C. T Haas and Joseph Woerndle, both of Portland, for defendant.

BROWN J.

This is not a criminal proceeding, having for its object the punishment of Joseph Woerndle. The defendant is charged with offending against the laws of the United States, not of the state of Oregon. This is a special proceeding, summary in character, instituted for the purpose of disbarring the defendant. It is not a case wherein the attorney at law has wronged a trusting client or deceived the court. But the defendant, according to the findings, has violated a law of the United States.

Under the circumstances disclosed by the record, should we revoke Woerndle's license as an attorney at law, a public officer of this state?

In October, 1914, Hans W. Boehn, a reserve officer in the German army, residing in Portland, Or., desired to return to his native land for the purpose of joining the army. Joseph Woerndle, a naturalized citizen of the United States and an inhabitant of Portland, Or., interested himself in Boehn's behalf, and, in accordance with the rules prescribed by the United States government, applied to the Secretary of State of the United States for a passport for himself. On its issuance, he caused it to be sent to the city of New York, where, by agreement, it was received by Boehn and this passport enabled Boehn, under the name of Joseph Woerndle, to pass into the boundaries of the German Empire.

Following the lawful regulations relative to the application for, and issuance of, passports by the federal government, Woerndle filed his application in the form of an affidavit, which contained this material statement:

"I am about to go abroad temporarily; * * * I intend to return to the United States within one year for the purpose of residing and performing the duties of citizenship therein."

It is averred by the prosecution that the excerpt above quoted was willfully false and corrupt and was a violation of section 125 of the federal Penal Code (U. S. Comp. St. § 10295) defining perjury.

This case was before the court on demurrer to the petition for disbarment herein. See State ex rel. Grievance Committee of Oregon State Bar Ass'n et al. v. Woerndle, decided October 10, 1922, reported in 209 P. 604. The court held that the petition stated cause sufficient. Thereafter, upon reference to the judge of the Nineteenth judicial district of the state of Oregon, the testimony was taken, and, among others, the following findings of fact were made:

(1) "That at the time said Joseph Woerndle, the defendant, prepared and signed said affidavit and application for passport, and at the time of the presentation thereof to the Department of State at Washington, D. C., the said defendant, Joseph Woerndle, did not intend to go abroad, temporarily or otherwise, but made said application and said affidavit and presented the same to the Department of State at Washington, D. C., for the purpose of enabling Capt. Hans W. Boehn to use the same and caused the issuance thereof by the Department of State and the delivery of such passport to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York City, and caused and directed the said Capt. Hans W. Boehn to secure the same, and at or about the same time delivered to said Capt. Hans W. Boehn certified copies of his certificate of naturalization and a United States patent for lands in the state of California, issued by the United States to the said defendant, Joseph Woerndle, as a means of identification for said Capt. Hans W. Boehn, with the intent and purpose that the said Capt. Hans W. Boehn should use said passport to enable him to leave the United States and to join the German army. * * *

"That the defendant Joseph Woerndle may have had a secondary purpose in obtaining said passport and enabling said Capt. Hans W. Boehn to use the same for the purpose of leaving the United States and entering the Empire of Germany, of securing for his relatives in Germany succor and assistance during the time of the existence of war; but such purpose was submerged in the purpose, on the part of said defendant, Joseph Woerndle, in securing the exit from the United States, and the entering into the German Empire, of the said Capt. Hans W. Boehn for the purpose of assisting Germany in the war.

"That from the time of the beginning of the war between Germany and Austria against England, Belgium, France, and Russia, the sympathies of the defendant, Joseph Woerndle, were with the Empire of Germany, and he was imbued with a very great desire for the success of Germany in that conflict. But from and after the entry of the United States into said World War, the said defendant, Joseph Woerndle, did not perform any acts or make any statements indicating that he was in sympathy with Germany and against the United States, but his acts and conduct evidenced, to some extent, that he was in sympathy with the United States in her efforts to win said war."

The court further found:

"That Joseph Woerndle bears a good reputation for honesty, integrity, industry and uprightness, both in and out of his profession, and is a law-abiding citizen, except as in these findings particularly specified."

There are certain writings in the record bearing date prior to the time of the declaration of war by the United States, which show Woerndle's exalted view of the Kaiser. In a letter to his brother, bearing date May 8, 1916, he unrestrainedly glorifies the ruler of the Imperial German Empire:

"The whole world admires the Emperor, for he is perhaps the greatest man that ever lived, the ablest soldier, diplomat, and ruler, and I hope he will succeed to lift the world back upon its axle. If he can't do it, nobody else can." Again, in a letter addressed to Boehn:

"No matter what friend or foe may think of German militarism, and the Kaiser's 'Me und Gott,' no human being has ever guided the destinies of that country like Wilhelm."

The record contains letters written by Woerndle prior to the entry of the United States into the World War, wherein he goes to the verge in criticizing the President of the United...