The Florida Bar v. Solomon, 48850
| Decision Date | 23 September 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 48850,48850 |
| Citation | 338 So.2d 818 |
| Parties | THE FLORIDA BAR, Complainant, v. Norman F. SOLOMON, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
Jack F. Durie, Jr., Bar Counsel, Miami, and John A. Weiss, Asst. Staff Counsel, Tallahassee, for complainant.
Robert L. Achor, and William A. Meadows, Jr., of Rollins, Peeples & Meadows, South Miami, for respondent.
This matter is here to review the report of a referee in a bar disciplinary matter finding Norman F. Solomon guilty of violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and recommending a one year suspension from practice, with proof of rehabilitation required for readmission. On review of the amended report, Solomon does not challenge the referee's findings as to guilt, and having reviewed the record independently we conclude that these findings are supported in the record.
Solomon asks us to reduce the recommended discipline from a one year suspension to a public reprimand, on the grounds:
1. that his only misconduct, a 1973 misdemeanor conviction for failing to file a 1969 federal income tax return, occurred at least six years ago;
2. that unrebutted evidence was presented to the referee demonstrating that he has led an exemplary professional life since his income tax conviction; and
3. that in comparable cases before this Court a public reprimand has been issued for the failure to file an income tax return.
The Florida Bar urges that we uphold the referee's disciplinary recommendation on the grounds:
1. that the time delay from Solomon's tax conviction until our review of the referee's amended report was not attributable to delays chargeable to the Bar, but rather arose from protracted proceedings which moved as expeditiously as counsel for both sides would allow; and
2. that prior decisions of this Court have approved suspensions from the practice of law in cases where a conviction for failure to file an income tax return follows prior breaches of professional discipline, a situation which exists here. 1
We have consistently held that prior disciplinary action is relevant to the imposition of discipline for breach of the Code of Professional Responsibility. E.g., The Florida Bar v. Poller, 203 So.2d 323 (Fla.1967). And see Fla. Bar Integr. Rule, Article XI, Rule 11.06(9)(a)(4). None of the 'failure to file' cases cited by Solomon involved prior offenders.
On the other side, we take note of Solomon's contention that he has demonstrated on the record a showing of fitness to practice law and moral character from the time of his...
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Byrd v. The Mississippi Bar
...Florida Bar v. Lord, 433 So.2d 983 (Fla.1983) (22 years of nonfiling and unblemished record—six-month suspension); Florida Bar v. Solomon, 338 So.2d 818 (Fla.1976) (one year of nonfiling with two private reprimands and one prior suspension—six-month suspension); In re Hopper, 85 Ill.2d 318,......
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Florida Bd. of Bar Examiners, In re, 52909
...permanently an attorney for failure to file income tax returns, citing Florida Bar v. Turner, 344 So.2d 1280 (Fla.1977); Florida Bar v. Solomon, 338 So.2d 818 (Fla.1976); In re Turk, 333 So.2d 16 (Fla.1976); Florida Bar v. Miller, 322 So.2d 502 (Fla.1975); Florida Bar v. Silver, 313 So.2d 6......
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The Florida Bar v. Bern, 60280
...The Florida Bar v. Vernell, 374 So.2d 473 (Fla.1979); The Florida Bar v. Rubin, 362 So.2d 12, 15 (Fla.1978); and The Florida Bar v. Solomon, 338 So.2d 818 (Fla.1976). The Court deals more harshly with cumulative misconduct than it does with isolated misconduct. Additionally, cumulative misc......
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Durie v. State, Case No. 5D02-905 (FL 1/21/2005), Case No. 5D02-905.
...an earlier period of his career, he represented The Florida Bar in cases involving attorney misconduct. See, e.g., Fla. Bar v. Solomon, 338 So. 2d 818 (Fla. 1976). In 1992, he represented two clients who had been injured in a bar fight. When he settled their case, he did not make proper pay......