In the Disciplinary Matter Involving Attorney Gayle Brown

481 P.3d 678
CourtAlaska Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 26, 2021
DocketS17993
StatusPublished

This text of 481 P.3d 678 (In the Disciplinary Matter Involving Attorney Gayle Brown) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Alaska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In the Disciplinary Matter Involving Attorney Gayle Brown, 481 P.3d 678 (Ala. 2021).

Opinion

Notice: This opinion is subject to correction before publication in the PACIFIC REPORTER. Readers are requested to bring errors to the attention of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts, 303 K Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501, phone (907) 264-0608, fax (907) 264-0878, email corrections@akcourts.us.

In the Supreme Court of the State of Alaska In the Disciplinary Matter Involving ) ) Supreme Court No. S-17993 GAYLE BROWN, Attorney. ) ) ABA File Nos. 2018D120/2018D125/ ) 2018D232 ) ) Order ) ) Order No. 113 – February 26, 2021

Before: Bolger, Chief Justice, Winfree, Maassen, Carney, and Borghesan, Justices.

Bar Counsel for the Alaska Bar Association and attorney Gayle Brown entered into a stipulation for discipline by consent that would result in her suspension from the practice of law for three years and one day with one year of the suspension stayed. The Bar Association’s Disciplinary Board approved the stipulation and now recommends that we do so, as well, and so suspend Brown. The facts of Brown’s misconduct are set forth in the stipulation, which is attached as an appendix.1 We take

1 The stipulation has been edited to delete identifying references to others, for clarification, and to conform to supreme court technical requirements. these facts as true2 and apply our independent judgment to the sanction’s appropriateness.3 Based on the stipulated facts we agree with the legal analysis — set out in the stipulation — that a three year and one day suspension with one year stayed is an appropriate sanction for Brown’s misconduct. Accordingly: Gayle Brown is SUSPENDED from the practice of law in Alaska for a period of three years and one day, effective March 28, 2021. Reinstatement proceedings following a served suspension of two years and one day will be conducted as set out in Alaska Bar Rule 29(c)(1)-(4). In addition, Brown must comply with the following conditions: (a) For 12 months following reinstatement, Brown must be supervised/mentored by an attorney on active status with the Alaska Bar Association who is mutually acceptable to Bar Counsel and Brown; at least monthly the supervising attorney must meet with Brown to discuss matters such as case management, compliance with court deadlines, and communications with clients; the supervising/mentoring attorney must report telephonically to Bar Counsel monthly; (b) During the term of supervision, if Brown commits a violation of Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct 1.3 or 1.4, and if the Disciplinary Board or the Supreme Court imposes discipline for the new misconduct, the year of stayed suspension in the present case will be imposed in addition to any discipline ordered for the new misconduct;

2 In re Brown, 392 P.3d 474, 474 (Alaska 2017); cf. In re Miles, 339 P.3d 1009, 1018 (Alaska 2014) (stating we independently review entire disciplinary proceeding record while affording great weight to Disciplinary Board’s findings of fact). 3 Id.

-2- ORD 113 (c) Prior to seeking reinstatement, Brown must certify to Bar Counsel that she has earned at least nine credit hours of continuing legal education in the areas of ethics and law office management; and (d) Brown shall pay $1,000 to the Alaska Bar Association within 60 days from entry of this order for disciplinary costs and fees incurred in this case. Entered by direction of the court. Clerk of the Appellate Courts

/s/ Meredith Montgomery cc: Supreme Court Justices Clerks of Court Distribution: Louise Driscoll John Murtagh Alaska Bar Association Counsel for Respondent Attorney 840 K Street, Suite 100 1101 W. 7th Avenue Anchorage AK 99501 Anchorage, AK 99501

-3- ORD 113 BEFORE THE ALASKA BAR ASSOCIATION DISCIPLINARY BOARD

In The Disciplinary Matter) Involving ) ) GAYLE BROWN, ) ) Respondent. ) ) __________________________)

ABA Membership No. 9411094 ABA File No. 2018D120/2018D125 and 2018D232

STIPULATION FOR DISCIPLINE BY CONSENT PURSUANT TO ALASKA BAR RULE 22(h)

Pursuant to Alaska Bar Rule 22(h), Gayle Brown, Respondent, by and through counsel, John Murtagh; and Louise Driscoll, Assistant Bar Counsel, stipulate as follows: JURISDICTION AND VENUE 1. Gayle Brown is an attorney at law admitted to practice by the Supreme Court of Alaska, and a member of the Alaska Bar Association. Brown practices law in Anchorage, Third Judicial District, Alaska. 2. Brown is subject to the Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct (ARPC) and to Part II, Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement, Alaska Bar Rules, giving the Alaska Supreme Court and the Disciplinary Board of the Bar jurisdiction to resolve this matter.

Appendix Page 1 of 16 ORD 113 BACKGROUND FACTS M.N. Matter 3. On June 12, 2018, Brown self-reported to Bar Counsel that she made errors and failed to comply with her professional duties in M.N.’s application for post-conviction relief. 4. The court of appeals also referred this matter to Bar Counsel after finding that Brown performed incompetently in her representation of M.N. The two files were consolidated into this grievance proceeding. 5. M.N. was convicted of attempted sexual assault in the first and second degrees, and second-degree assault. 6. In November 2013, the court of appeals affirmed M.N.’s convictions and sentence on direct appeal. 7. In 2015, M.N. began post-conviction relief proceedings. Brown was appointed to represent M.N. in the post-conviction relief action, under contract with the Office of Public Advocacy. 8. The superior court dismissed M.N’s post-conviction relief case in November 2016, after Brown failed to respond to the State’s motion to dismiss. But two months later, the court granted M.N.’s motion to re-open the case on condition that Brown file an opposition to the State’s motion to dismiss by February 13, 2017. 9. Brown failed to file a pleading by the February 13 deadline. Finding that Brown had filed nothing as of March 28, 2017, the superior court again dismissed M.N.’s post-conviction relief action. 10. M.N. began attending the legal clinic held every Wednesday at Spring Creek Correctional Center sometime in 2018. During this clinic, he first learned that he had a right to appeal the dismissal of his post-conviction relief action.

Appendix Page 2 of 16 ORD 113 11. After learning about his appeal rights, M.N. called the court of appeals. The court informed him that the deadline for the appeal was May 28. He did not realize it was May 28 of the earlier year (2017). 12. Fourteen months later, on May 23, 2018, M.N. (acting pro se) wrote the court of appeals. In his letter, M.N. asked the court to accept a late-filed appeal of the dismissal of his post-conviction relief action. M.N. explained: [he] made many efforts to communicate with his court-appointed counsel, . . . Brown, but was unsuccessful in these attempts. . . . Brown would not take telephone calls from [him, she] refused to discuss [the] case with him [, and she] made no efforts to [apprise] him of the status of the case. . . . Brown never informed . . . [M.N.] that he could file a notice of appeal with the court of appeals[,] and never told him that there was an actual deadline [for doing so]. [M.N.] only found out that he could appeal as of today’s date. 13. On June 4, 2018, Brown filed a formal notice of appeal on M.N.’s behalf. She also filed a motion to accept the late-filed appeal because her client’s appeal was more than one year late. 14. In her affidavit accompanying her motion to accept the late-filed appeal, Brown stated that “the late filing of the appeal was not [M.N.’s] fault.” She explained she filed the appeal late because M.N.’s case “escaped my docketing system.” 15. Brown also filed a motion asking the court to appoint an attorney to represent M.N. on appeal.

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Related

In the Disciplinary Matter Involving Buckalew
731 P.2d 48 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1987)
In the Disciplinary Matter Involving Miles
339 P.3d 1009 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2014)
In re the Disciplinary Matter Involving Brown
392 P.3d 474 (Alaska Supreme Court, 2017)

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Bluebook (online)
481 P.3d 678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-the-disciplinary-matter-involving-attorney-gayle-brown-alaska-2021.