In Re the Disciplinary Proceeding Against Hankin

804 P.2d 30, 116 Wash. 2d 293
CourtWashington Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 11, 1991
Docket12531
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 804 P.2d 30 (In Re the Disciplinary Proceeding Against Hankin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Washington Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Disciplinary Proceeding Against Hankin, 804 P.2d 30, 116 Wash. 2d 293 (Wash. 1991).

Opinion

Smith, J.

This is a disciplinary proceeding against Ben L. Hankin, a member of the Washington State Bar Association, upon a show cause proceeding directed by this court to determine whether he should be disbarred.

Ben L. Hankin was suspended October 28, 1985, for failure to fulfill his 1984 Continuing Legal Education requirements and has remained suspended since that time.

After a series of proceedings through May 11, 1990, the Disciplinary Board of the Washington State Bar Association by an 8-to-3 vote recommended suspension of Mr. Hankin for a period of 1 year with credit for the time he has been suspended since July 6, 1988, and with probation for 2 years on stated conditions. We approve the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board. 1

This case has had a long and tortuous journey through this court. It brings into focus certain realities in the lawyer discipline process.

First is the matter of lawyer discipline generally.

This court is the ultimate authority on lawyer discipline in this state. 2 This court will adopt the recommendation of the Disciplinary Board unless the court is clearly *296 persuaded by one or more of the following "Noble" factors 3 that the sanction recommended by the Disciplinary Board is inappropriate:

(1) The purposes of attorney discipline (sanction must protect the public and deter other attorneys from similar misconduct);
(2) The proportionality of the sanction to the misconduct (sanction must not depart significantly from sanctions imposed in similar cases);
(3) The effect of the sanction on the attorney (sanction must not be clearly excessive);
(4) The record developed by the hearing panel (sanction must be fairly supported by the record and must not be based upon considerations not supported by the record); and
(5) The extent of agreement among the members of the board (sanction supported by unanimous recommendation will not be rejected in the absence of clear reasons.) 4

Second is the matter of application of the American Bar Association's Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions (Approved Draft, 1986).

This court has previously made it clear that in determining an appropriate disciplinary sanction, we will apply the analytical framework provided by the Standards and require hearing officers and the Disciplinary Board in every case to indicate clearly in their findings (1) the formal complaint; (2) findings of fact; (3) conclusions indicating violations of specific provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct; (4) the sanction suggested by the ABA Standards; (5) weighing of any aggravating or mitigating factors, based upon the ABA Standards considered in determining what *297 sanction to recommend; and (6) the sanction recommended by the hearing officer and the Disciplinary Board. 5

Using the framework provided by the Standards, these questions are considered: 6

1. What ethical duty did the lawyer violate?
2. What was the lawyer's mental state?
3. What was the extent of the actual or potential injury caused by the lawyer's misconduct?
4. Are there any aggravating or mitigating circumstances?

After the first three questions have been answered, the Standards are then examined to determine the presumptive disciplinary sanction. Aggravating and mitigating circumstances are then considered to increase or decrease the presumptive sanction when determining the final sanction to be applied. 7

Third is the role of the Lawyers' Assistance Program in helping lawyers overcome problems contributing to the behavior resulting in the discipline.

The Lawyers' Assistance Program is a confidential state bar resource which was established in August 1987 to help lawyers explore, clarify and resolve their personal problems, including alcohol problems. The Lawyers' Assistance Program provides short-term counseling, assesses problems, and makes referrals to appropriate professionals, treatment facilities, and peer counselors. 8 This court is in agreement with the purposes of the Lawyers' Assistance Program and will acknowledge its appropriate intervention on a case-by-case basis.

*298 Fourth is the broad question of the purpose and nature of disciplinary sanctions for lawyers.

The ABA Standards provide:

Purpose of Lawyer Discipline Proceedings.

The purpose of lawyer discipline proceedings is to protect the public and the administration of justice from lawyers who have not discharged, will not discharge, or are unlikely properly to discharge their professional duties to clients, the public, the legal system, and the legal profession.[ 9 ]

This court stated in 1983 that:

Because we are committed to the proposition that discipline is not imposed as punishment for the misconduct, then our primary concern is with protecting the public and deterring other lawyers from similar misconduct. The severity of the sanction should be calculated to achieve these ends.[ 10 ]

Upon a finding of misconduct, a lawyer is subject to sanctions of disbarment, suspension, reprimand, censure, admonition, and probation which may include limitation upon practice, appointment of a receiver, retaking of bar examination substantive or professional responsibility test, attendance at continuing legal education courses, and any other reasonable requirement of the State's highest court or of the Disciplinary Board, as well as restitution and assessment of c.osts and expenses.9 10 11

A primary purpose of lawyer discipline proceedings is protection of the public. But that protection may be achieved by rehabilitation of the lawyer, as well as by sanctions against the lawyer. The ultimate sanction is disbarment which, by its very nature, is punishment because it terminates the offending person's status as a lawyer. The appropriate sanction must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Whether disbarment should be imposed where the presumptive sanction is disbarment in any event depends *299

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Bluebook (online)
804 P.2d 30, 116 Wash. 2d 293, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-disciplinary-proceeding-against-hankin-wash-1991.