Thies v. Joint Bar Ass'n Grievance Committee
| Citation | 45 N.Y.2d 865,382 N.E.2d 1351,410 N.Y.S.2d 575 |
| Parties | , 382 N.E.2d 1351 In the Matter of Winthrop Drake THIES, an Attorney and Counselor at Law, JOINT BAR ASSOCIATION GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE for the Second and Eleventh Judicial Districts, Respondent. |
| Decision Date | 19 October 1978 |
| Court | New York Court of Appeals |
We decline the invitation to reconsider our decision of but a year ago in Matter of Chu, 42 N.Y.2d 490, 398 N.Y.S.2d 1001, 369 N.E.2d 1 in which we held that, under subdivision 4 of section 90 of the Judiciary Law, conviction of a Federal felony works an automatic disbarment in New York State of a defendant attorney. We then held that it is immaterial that there is no felony analogue under our State statutes matching the Federal felony. As we then noted, this marked a significant departure from our prior holding in Matter of Donegan, 282 N.Y. 285, 26 N.E.2d 260.
The thrust, if not the particular application, of the expressions of concern by our dissenting brothers pertains to the statutory mandate that "(a)ny person being an attorney and counsellor-at-law, who shall be convicted of a felony, shall, upon such conviction, cease to be an attorney and counsellor-at-law, or to be competent to practice law as such" (Judiciary Law, § 90, subd. 4). If, as they urge, consideration should be given to the gravity of the offense and to mitigating circumstances, on principle this would seem to be equally true with respect to convictions for New York felonies. Yet, as the dissenters recognize, the validity of the concept of automatic disbarment as applied to New York felonies has long been upheld.
In Chu, for the reasons there articulated we concluded "that conviction of an attorney for criminal conduct judged by the Congress to be of such seriousness and so offensive to the community as to merit punishment as a felony is sufficient ground to invoke automatic disbarment. * * * we now perceive little or no reason for distinguishing between conviction of a Federal felony and conviction of a New York State felony as a predicate for professional discipline" (42 N.Y.2d pp. 493-494, 398 N.Y.S.2d p. 1003, 369 N.E.2d p. 3). Nothing has occurred in the intervening months to compel a different conclusion.
The order of the Appellate Division should be affirmed, without costs.
While we agree with the majority that summary...
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Johnston, Matter of
... ... Departmental Disciplinary Committee for the First Judicial ... Department, Respondent ... statutes matching the Federal felony." (Matter of Thies, 45 N.Y.2d 865, 866, 410 N.Y.S.2d 575, 382 N.E.2d 1351 [opn ... ...
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Graham v. Coughlin
...N.Y.2d, at 495, 398 N.Y.S.2d 1001, 369 N.E.2d 1, supra [Wachtler, J., concurring] ). Subsequently, however, in Matter of Thies, 45 N.Y.2d 865, 410 N.Y.S.2d 575, 382 N.E.2d 1351, a majority of this court, over the dissent of the three Judges who had concurred in Chu, abandoned the rule in Do......
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Thies, In re, 79-2218
...N.Y.S.2d 53 (2d Dep't March 13, 1978), amended, 61 A.D.2d 1037, 403 N.Y.S.2d 53 (2d Dep't March 23, 1978), aff'd, 45 N.Y.2d 865, 410 N.Y.S.2d 575, 382 N.E.2d 1351 (1978), appeal dismissed, 441 U.S. 939, 99 S.Ct. 2154, 60 L.Ed.2d 1041 (1979).10 Joint Appendix ("J.A.") at 14-15.11 A letter to......
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In re Tidwell, Docket No. 01-6900.
...He also noted that since Thies's disbarment and perhaps because of it, see In re Thies, 45 N.Y.2d 865, 867, 410 N.Y.S.2d 575, 576, 382 N.E.2d 1351 (1978) (Wachtler, Fuchsberg, Cooke, JJ., dissenting), New York limited its automatic disbarment provision for felonies to apply only to New York......