DocketNumber: No. 14-BG-849
Citation Numbers: 122 A.3d 874
Judges: Beckwith, Blackburne, Rigsby, Steadman
Filed Date: 5/14/2015
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 1/12/2023
Having found by clear and convincing evidence that respondent, Andrea Merritt
In considering the appropriate sanction, the Board determined that respondent was entitled to mitigation under In re Kersey, 520 A.2d 321 (D.C.1987), because she suffered from dysthymia
a. Respondent shall continue to undergo therapy with a licensed psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health professional for the full three years of probation, unless discharged earlier by that professional, which discharge shall be confirmed in a writing from the psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional to the Board and Bar Counsel;
b. Respondent shall submit quarterly reports to the Board and Bar Counsel from the psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional, the scope of which shall be limited to Respondent’s substantial compliance with her treatment plan;
c. Respondent shall execute an authorization form waiving any physician-patient or similar privilege to the extent necessary to permit the psychotherapist, psychiatrist, psychologist, or other mental health professional to release information to the Board and/or Bar Counsel and/or testify at a hearing regarding Respondent’s disability and compliance with the terms of probation and fitness to practice law, as provided under Board Rule 18.1;
*876 d. Respondent shall notify the Board and Bar Counsel of any change in her current employment status as promptly as feasible; and
e. Respondent shall notify the Board and Bar Counsel at least 30 days before resuming the practice of law, for the purpose of arranging an appropriate practice monitor.2
Should respondent violate the terms of her probation or commit any additional violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct, she will be subject to revocation of her probation and face disbarment. See In re Mooers, 910 A.2d 1046, 1046-47 (D.C. 2006). “Our decisions make clear that disbarment that would otherwise be required may be suspended upon a successful showing under the Kersey doctrine.” Id. at 1047 (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted).
“In a disciplinary case, this court accepts the Board’s findings of fact unless they are unsupported by substantial evidence of record.” In re Samad, 51 A.3d 486, 495 (D.C.2012) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); see also D.C. Bar R. XI, § 9(h)(1). Moreover, it will impose the sanction recommended by the Board “unless to do so would foster a tendency toward inconsistent dispositions for comparable conduct or would otherwise be unwarranted.” Id. This court reviews the Board’s legal conclusions de novo. In re Samad, supra, 51 A.3d at 495 (internal quotation marks omitted). The Board, in turn, is required to accept the factual findings of the hearing committee that are supported by substantial evidence in the record, viewed in its entirety. Id. However, the Board owes no deference to the hearing committee’s determination of ultimate facts. Id. Neither respondent nor Bar Counsel filed an exception to the Board’s recommendation in this matter, therefore our standard of review is “heightened deference to the [Board’s recommendation].” In re Coopet, 947 A.2d 1125, 1126 (D.C.2008); In re Winston, 917 A.2d 629, 630 (D.C.2007); In re Wechsler, 719 A.2d 100, 100 (D.C.1998) (“[Where] [njeither Bar Counsel nor [respondent] has filed an exception to the Board’s recommendation, [our] standard of review of the Board’s'recommended sanction is[] especially deferential.”). Here, the Board’s findings were supported by the evidence provided and the Board relied on precedent in selecting the appropriate sanction. See D.C. Bar R. XI, § 9(h)(1). We therefore accept the Board’s findings and recommendation. See In re Mooers, supra, 910 A.2d at 1046-47. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that Andrea Merritt-Bag-well is disbarred from the practice of law in the District of Columbia, that operation of the disbarment is hereby stayed, and that respondent instead will serve three years of monitored probation subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the Board in its Report and Recommendation.
So ordered.
. The dysthymia was caused by a range of serious health and other problems suffered by respondent and her immediate family.
. The Hearing Committee report states that respondent moved to California in August 2013 and was employed in a non-lawyer position with the University of California-San Francisco.