 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Attorney Grievance Commission of v. Rohrback6/26/1991
rofessional Responsibility, DR 1-102(A)(4) ("A lawyer shall not ngage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation."). And see Miskovsky v. State, 586 P.2d 1104 (Okla.Crim.App. 1978); State v. Massad, 334 P.2d 787 (Okla. 1959); ABA Comm. on Ethics and Professional Responsibility, Informal Op. 914 (1966). In the case before us Rohrback, knowingly and actively, participated in Asbury's fraud on Lambert. By assisting Rohrback in the fraudulent suppression of a fact material to the PSI, Rohrback had the duty under Rule 4.1 to disclose
the material fact, and he failed to do so. Accordingly, Rohrback's exception is overruled as to this violation.
Rohrback points to the comment under Rule 4.1 discussing " disclosure " which reads: "However, the constitutional rights of defendants in criminal cases may limit the extent to which counsel for a defendant may correct a misrepresentation that is based on information provided by the client." Rohrback further points to the unique Maryland provision in Rule 3.3(e) (" lawyer for an accused in a criminal case need not disclose that the accused intends to testify falsely or has testified falsely if the lawyer reasonably believes that the disclosure would jeopardize any constitutional right of the accused."). We agree with Rohrback that the quoted comment to Rule 4.1 and the express provisions of Rule 3.3(e) are directed to the same concerns. We do not see, however, how Rule 3.3(e) and the comment to Rule 4.1, if they are relevant, are determinative. Ordinarily a person awaiting sentence after a finding of guilty has no right of constitutional dimension to be represented by counsel at a PSI interview. Having chosen to be represented by privately engaged counsel, it is not even reasonably arguable that Asbury would be denied the effective assistance of counsel by the prohibitions in the Rules of Professional Conduct against Rohrback's confirming as true that which was fraudulent. See Nix v. Whiteside, 475 U.S. 157, 106 S.Ct. 988, 89 L.Ed.2d 123 (1986) (accused, dissuaded by defense counsel in criminal case from giving perjurious testimony, not unconstitutionally deprived of the effective assistance of counsel). Judge Wolff's finding that Rohrback did not reasonably believe that disclosure would jeopardize Asbury's constitutional rights is not clearly erroneous as to the fraud on Lambert.
IV
Bar Counsel, viewing the case as one involving a course of unethical conduct over three months, recommends a three year suspension. Counsel for Rohrback suggests that, even if any violation is sustained, the sanction should be no more than a reprimand. We recognize that the Maryland Rules of Professional Conduct had been in effect for less than one year when the violation occurred. We also recognize the great importance, particularly in criminal defense work, of maintaining client confidentiality. We are conscious of the difficulty which practitioners, courts, and commentators long have had in trying to define clearly the lines beyond which conduct becomes a disciplinary violation in the area of client confidences. We are mindful of the fact that Rohrback was not the creator of the deception. Nor did Rohrback receive a fee for attending the meeting with Lambert. There is no indication from Bar Counsel that Rohrback has ever committed any prior professional infractions in the more than twenty years that he has been a member of the bar of this Court. Nevertheless, the ultimate purpose of the fraud which Rohrback knowingly assisted was to deceive the District Court in Baltimore City concerning "Boland's" criminal record. For these reasons a majority of the Court concludes that a suspension of fortyfive days is appropriate. Judg
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Maryland DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|