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IN RE HOWARD2/23/1994
Harley Scott Herman, as special counsel for the National Bar Association, has applied for posthumous reinstatement of the license of Charles Preston Howard, Sr. The application was filed October 13, 1993, and has been considered by the court, acting en banc.
Howard's license was voluntarily surrendered during a disciplinary investigation and proceeding, and remained revoked at the time of his death on January 25, 1969. The application specifically seeks "posthumous readmission of Charles Preston Howard, Sr.'s membership in the Iowa State Bar Association." The Iowa State Bar Association is a private and voluntary organization whose membership is not controlled by this court. We therefore understand the pending application to seek readmission into the practice of law before the courts of this state.
Our rules do not provide for posthumous admission or readmission. The application presupposes that we suspend the rules and readmit Howard in view of his "contributions to the legal profession, the State of Iowa, and this Nation."
Howard's contributions were indeed outstanding. Most notably he was a cofounder of the National Bar Association, incorporated in 1925 in Des Moines as an organization for African-American lawyers. This public service alone unquestionably merits our commendation. It seems incredible and is clearly scandalous to note that, within living memory, minority lawyers were required to form their own organization in order to, as the application points out, obtain "access to national expertise and educational opportunities." We take pride in acknowledging that an Iowa lawyer took part in addressing this shameful wrong.
Howard also made other contributions as a champion of civil liberties for which he earned a reputation as a tenacious advocate. He also cofounded the National Negro Publisher's Association and published newspapers for minority readers. We are told he eventually became a syndicated United Nations correspondent. An army officer with overseas service in World War I, he spent later years in the cause of peace.
We claim and exercise the inherent authority to superintend the admission into practice in our courts. The application asks that we recognize Howard's many achievements by readmitting him to practice.
Much as we admire Howard's achievements and honor them, a careful review of the disciplinary record conclusively shows that readmission would be inappropriate, even if authorized by our rules. As will appear, the proceeding leading to Howard's disbarment was in large part precipitated by a complaint filed by the late Henry T. McKnight. McKnight, also an African-American lawyer, certainly was not motivated by any feeling of racial prejudice. Following McKnight's complaint, the Polk County Bar Association, in 1951, sought Howard's disbarment, based on four allegations of misconduct. Rather than answer the charge, Howard surrendered his license to practice law on February 16, 1951. A week later we entered an order removing him from the roll of attorneys in Iowa. On the basis of our decision, the Illinois court also removed Howard from its rolls.
Howard was the subject of many ethics complaints over many years. As early as 1935, complaints began arriving at the grievance committee of the Polk County Bar Association concerning his misconduct. In 1935 the local bar ordered Howard to appear to explain his alleged failure to forward money recovered for a client, John Jones. The committee had twice written to Howard for an explanation and received no response. Howard gave the committee a check for the amount owed and the matter was closed.
In 1938 the same committee held a hearing on a complaint
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