Tucker v. Mississippi State Bar

577 So. 2d 844, 1991 Miss. LEXIS 187, 1991 WL 52452
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 27, 1991
Docket89-BA-1098
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 577 So. 2d 844 (Tucker v. Mississippi State Bar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tucker v. Mississippi State Bar, 577 So. 2d 844, 1991 Miss. LEXIS 187, 1991 WL 52452 (Mich. 1991).

Opinion

577 So.2d 844 (1991)

James Russell TUCKER
v.
MISSISSIPPI STATE BAR.

No. 89-BA-1098.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 27, 1991.

Walker L. Watters, Gerald Brand Watters Cox & Hemleben, Jackson, for appellant.

Charles J. Mikhail, Jackson, for appellee.

Before DAN M. LEE, P.J., and PRATHER and BANKS, JJ.

ORDER OF DISBARMENT

PRATHER, Justice.

This case having come on for consideration based upon the August 24, 1989 Opinion and Judgment of the Complaint Tribunal of the Mississippi State Bar issued subsequent to an evidentiary hearing had and done following the filing of a Formal Complaint and discovery, said Opinion and Judgment calling for the disbarment of *845 James Russell Tucker for his unprofessional and unethical conduct and conduct evincing unfitness for the practice of law, and the Court, having fully considered the record, briefs and arguments of the parties, and further being fully advised in the premises, finds as follows, to-wit:

I.

The Formal Complaint in this cause was filed on September 23, 1988; Mr. Tucker was served with process according to law on October 10, 1988. At all times herein mentioned, Mr. Tucker was a member of the Mississippi Bar and/or subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Mississippi and its designated agencies.

II.

A hearing was conducted before the Complaint Tribunal on Thursday, April 6, 1989, at which time Mr. Tucker appeared and was represented by counsel.

III.

Following the evidentiary hearing the Tribunal issued its Opinion and Judgment. After thorough examination and consideration, this Court adopts as its own the Opinion and Judgment of the Tribunal which was signed August 24, 1989 and filed with this Court August 30, 1989. A copy of the Opinion and Judgment of the Tribunal is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and incorporated herein.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED as follows:

1. James Russell Tucker is hereby disbarred from the practice of law in the State of Mississippi and his name shall be immediately struck from the rolls of the Mississippi State Bar;

2. The Clerk of the Supreme Court of Mississippi (the Clerk) shall immediately forward to the attorneys of record for each party herein a copy of this Order of Disbarment, and shall send Mr. Tucker's copy by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested;

3. The Clerk shall immediately forward an attested copy of this Order of Disbarment to the Clerks of the United States District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, to the Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and to the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States;

4. The Clerk shall forward an attested copy of this Order of Disbarment to the Executive Director of the Mississippi State Bar;

5. The Bar is entitled to recover from Mr. Tucker all costs of this disciplinary proceeding, as well as all previously assessed sums. The Bar shall file its Motion for Costs and Expenses with the Tribunal within ten (10) days of the filing of this Order;

6. Mr. Tucker is hereby enjoined from practicing law in Mississippi; from holding himself out as an attorney at law; from performing any legal service for others; from accepting any fee directly or indirectly for legal services to be performed for others; from appearing as counsel or in any representative capacity in any proceeding in any Court of the State of Mississippi, or before any administrative body or agency thereof; from holding himself out to others as or using his name in any manner, in conjunction with the phrases "attorney at law," "attorney," "counselor at law," "counselor," or "lawyer," for the period of his disbarment until such time as he is reinstated to the practice of law in this State by the Supreme Court of Mississippi;

7. Within ten (10) days of receipt of this Order of Disbarment Mr. Tucker shall notify in writing each of his Mississippi clients of his disbarment and of his consequent inability to act as an attorney and shall advise each such client to promptly substitute another attorney or attorneys in his place or to seek legal advice elsewhere;

8. Mr. Tucker shall return all files, papers, monies and other properties belonging to his Mississippi clients in his possession, if any such clients request same after receiving notification from him. Within *846 thirty (30) days of receipt of this Order of Disbarment Mr. Tucker shall file with this Court and the Complaint Tribunal of the Mississippi State Bar an Affidavit stating that all current Mississippi clients have been notified of his disbarment and that all files, papers, monies and other property belonging to such clients have been returned as ordered herein; and showing in the cases where it was not possible to notify such clients or return their property, that due diligence was used to do so;

9. Within ten (10) days of receipt of this Order of Disbarment, Mr. Tucker shall notify every attorney and adverse party in any Mississippi proceeding in which he is involved and all affected Courts and agencies, of his disbarment and consequent inability to act as an attorney. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of this Order of Disbarment Mr. Tucker shall file with this Court and the Complaint Tribunal of the Mississippi State Bar an Affidavit stating that all attorneys or adverse parties in any such proceeding in which he is involved, and all affected Courts and agencies, have been notified of his disbarment and consequent inability to act as an attorney;

10. Certification of this Order shall, in accordance with the provisions of the following paragraph, be made by the Clerk to the State Bar of Texas;

11. In accordance with the Order of this Court dated December 5, 1988, public disclosure of this Order of Disbarment and the certification to the State Bar of Texas shall become a matter of public record, and the contents of Mississippi State Bar's Confidential Misc. No. 312 shall likewise in all respects be a public record.

SO ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED.

ROY NOBLE LEE, C.J., HAWKINS, P.J., and PRATHER, ROBERTSON, SULLIVAN, PITTMAN, BANKS and McRAE, JJ., concur.

DAN M. LEE, P.J., dissents.

Appendix

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF MISSISSIPPI (BEFORE A COMPLAINT TRIBUNAL)

Mississippi State Bar, COMPLAINANT,

vs.

James Russell Tucker, RESPONDENT.

Before a Complaint Tribunal Consisting of:

Judge George C. Carlson, Jr., Presiding Judge

Honorable John D. Sibley

Honorable James D. Minor

Misc. No. 312.

Aug. 30, 1989.

OPINION AND JUDGMENT

This matter came on for hearing before this Tribunal on Thursday, April 6, 1989.

Complainant, the Mississippi State Bar (the Bar), was represented by the Honorable Michael B. Martz, General Counsel, and the Honorable Charles J. Mikhail, Assistant General Counsel; Respondent, James Russell Tucker (Mr. Tucker), was represented by the Honorable Walker L. Watters.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. The Formal Complaint in this cause was filed on September 23, 1988, pursuant to a written directive issued by the Bar's Committee on Professional Responsibility to the Bar's General Counsel dated September 15, 1988, and received by said Counsel on September 19, 1988. Mr. Tucker was served with process according to law on October 10, 1988. At all times herein mentioned, Mr. Tucker was a member of the Bar and/or subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Mississippi and its designated agencies.

2.

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Related

Rogers v. the Mississippi Bar
731 So. 2d 1158 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1999)
In Re Reinstatement of Tucker
656 So. 2d 799 (Mississippi Supreme Court, 1995)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
577 So. 2d 844, 1991 Miss. LEXIS 187, 1991 WL 52452, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tucker-v-mississippi-state-bar-miss-1991.