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In re Van Buskirk6/1/1999
ee trespass and wiretapping. The other charges were dismissed.
On November 2, 1998, Van Buskirk pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a class 1 misdemeanor, and he will be sentenced to two years of probation, and up to sixty days in jail, in addition to other conditions. Van Buskirk has stipulated that his conduct again violated Colo. RPC 8.4(b), 8.4(h), and C.R.C.P. 241.6(5).
II. The Sanction
Van Buskirk has agreed to either a three-year suspension or disbarment. The inquiry panel recommended suspension for three years. In the absence of aggravating or mitigating factors, the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions (1991 & Supp.1992) (ABA Standards) call for suspension as the appropriate sanction when "a lawyer knowingly engages in criminal conduct which does not contain the elements listed in Standard 5.11 and that seriously adversely reflects on the lawyer's fitness to practice." ABA Standards 5.12.
Van Buskirk's misconduct in this case is very similar to his conduct in People v. Van Buskirk, 962 P.2d 975, 975-76 (Colo. 1998). There we suspended Van Buskirk for six months with the requirement that he must petition for reinstatement. See id. at 977. Were we to treat the Van Buskirk case as previous discipline, disbarment in this case would be appropriate. "Disbarment is generally appropriate when a lawyer: . . . (b) has been suspended for the same or similar misconduct, and intentionally or knowingly engages in further acts of misconduct that cause injury or potential injury to a client, the public, the legal system, or the profession." ABA Standards 8.1(b). All of the acts complained of in this case, however, occurred before the imposition of discipline in 1998. In fact, as noted above, the conditional admission that was accepted in Van Buskirk expressly reserved Count III of GC 97B-63 for future Disposition. Van Buskirk's conduct in the 1998 case and this case are more properly viewed as a pattern of misconduct. See People v. Williams, 845 P.2d 1150, 1152 n.3 (Colo. 1993); ABA Standards 9.32(c). The complainant has indicated that the following mitigating factors are present in this case: Van Buskirk has made full and free disclosure to the disciplinary authorities, see id. at 9.32(e); and other penalties and sanctions have been imposed, see id. at 9.32(k).
Considering the nature of the conduct together with the factors in mitigation, we conclude that a long period of suspension, rather than disbarment, is adequate in this case. Accordingly, we accept the conditional admission and the inquiry panel's recommendation and impose discipline in the nature of a long period of suspension.
III.
It is hereby ordered that Tom Alan Van Buskirk be suspended for three years, effective upon the date of this opinion. It is further ordered that Van Buskirk pay the costs of this proceeding in the amount of $48.13 to the Attorney Regulation Committee, 600 Seventeenth Street, Suite 200 South, Denver, Colorado 80202-5432, within thirty days after the release of this opinion.
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