 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
In re Tidwell9/11/2003
Argued March 14, 2003
Respondent Tidwell is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and has also been admitted to practice in New York, Virginia, the United States District Court for the Western District of New York, and the United States Supreme Court. He became the subject of disciplinary proceedings in the state of New York after he entered a plea of guilty on September 3, 1999, to a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal automobile accident without reporting it. After receiving notice of Mr. Tidwell's conviction and subsequent disbarrment in New York, this court ordered that he be temporarily suspended from the practice of law in the District of Colum bia pursuant to D.C. Bar Rule XI, § 10 (c).
We then directed our Board on Professional Responsibility ("the Board") to institute disciplinary proceedings and, in particular, to determine whether the offense of which Mr. Tidwell was convicted in New York involved moral turpitude per se. We also ordered the Office of Bar Counsel to state its views concerning the appropriate disciplinary sanction. With respect to whether the crime involved moral turpitude per se, Bar Counsel concluded that the issue was "unclear" and recommended that a hearing be held on the question of whether the crime involved moral turpitude on its specific facts.
The Board ruled that the crim e did not involve moral turpitude per se and referred the matter to a hearing committee to determine whether a finding of moral turpitude could be based on the facts and circumstances surrounding the offense. See D.C. Code § 11-2503 (a) (2001). Before the hearing committee considered the matter, Bar Counsel filed a formal petition asserting that Mr. Tidwell's conviction involved moral turpitude on its facts and that his actions also violated Rule 8.4 (b) of the District of Columbia Rules of Professional Conduct. After an evidentiary hearing, the hearing committee ruled, inter alia, that the facts underlying Mr. Tidwell's conviction warranted a finding of moral turpitude and recommended his disbarrment. Bar Counsel did not contest the hearing committee's decision, but Mr. Tidwell appeared before the Board and orally argued his exceptions.
In July 2002 the Board issued its report and recommended Mr. Tidwell's disbarrment. Mr. Tidwell filed written exceptions with the court, and Bar Counsel filed a brief in support of the Board. We agree with Bar Counsel and the Board, adopt the Board's recommendation, and order that Mr. Tidwell be disbarred in the District of Columbia.
I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
Mr. Tidwell was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1978 and continued to practice here until moving to Buffalo, New York, in 1984. Since that time he has lived and maintained a law practice in the state of New York.
Over approximately the last ten years, Mr. Tidwell developed a drinking problem and acknowledged before the hearing committee that he was an alcoholic. His record of alcohol abuse includes an arrest on October 6, 1995, for driving w hile intoxicated. Several months later, M r. Tidwell voluntarily admitted himself into an alcohol treatment center in Buffalo. Even after that treatment, however, Mr. Tidwell's drinking was not under control. He testified before the hearing committee that by the time of the incident that led to these proceedings, he had resumed his regular practice of drinking three bourbons every day after work. Mr. Tidwell also admitted suffering from alcohol-related blackouts prior to his 1995 arrest, but not afterwards.
On the evening of August 17, 1999, Mr. Tidwell left work and drove to the Audubon Room, a bar near the University of Buffalo where he was a frequent customer.
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 District of Columbia DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|