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Attorney Grievance Commission v. Ellison2/4/2005
he same evidentiary findings supporting the violations of MRPC 8.4(c) and 8.1(b) provide clear and convincing evidence that Ellison engaged in conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice. Bar Counsel is correct.
We previously have found violations of MRPC 8.4(d) when a lawyer's specific act of dishonesty might cause the public to lose confidence in lawyers generally and respect for "the judicial system as a whole." Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. White, 354 Md. 346, 364, 731 A.2d 447, 457 (1999) (citing Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Richardson, 350 Md. 354, 368, 712 A.2d 525, 532 (1998) (citing Maryland State Bar Ass'n v. Agnew, 271 Md. 543, 549, 318 A.2d 811, 814 (1974))). It is almost axiomatic that at "the foundation of the rule of law is respect for the law, courts and judges who administer it." Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Link, 380 Md. 405, 425, 844 A.2d 1197, 1209 (2004). In White, we overruled the respondent's exception to violations of MRPC 8.4 (c) and (d) where her testimony under oath was "at the very least, dishonest, deceitful, and misrepresented the truth about her involvement in the case." 354 Md. at 363, 731 A.2d at 457. This same dishonesty, which was clearly a violation of MRPC 8.4(c), also violated 8.4 (d) because it engendered public disrespect of the courts that was prejudicial to the administration of justice.
In Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Link, we fashioned a test to determine when an attorney's non-criminal conduct might rise to a violation of MRPC 8.4(d). We stated that conduct violated MRPC 8.4 (d) when it was "so egregious as to make the harm or potential harm, flowing from it patent will that conduct be considered as prejudicing, or being prejudicial to, the administration of justice." Link, 380 Md. at 429, 844 A.2d at 1211-12. We did not conclude that Link's conduct violated MRPC 8.4 (d) because his inappropriate verbal conduct towards Maryland Vehicle Administration employees did not rise to a level where the harm or potential harm flowing from his comments was patent. Id. at 429, 844 A.2d at 1212.
The analytical test employed in Link was rejected by some members of this Court as lacking sufficiently fair notice to lawyers of potential future conduct that would violate the standard, and consequently, MRPC 8.4(d). Id. at 432, 844 A.2d at 1213 (Raker, J., dissenting). The dissent fashioned an alternative test to determine when an attorney's non-criminal conduct was prejudicial to the administration of justice that, in the dissent's view, more properly aligned our interpretation of MRPC 8.4 (d) with our prior holdings. Judge Raker stated that an attorney's non-criminal conduct must have "some connection, directly or indirectly, to the practice of law," before it violates 8.4(d). Id.
In her dissent in Link, Judge Raker cited approvingly to Judge Eldridge's exacting research of our cases considering alleged violations of MRPC 8.4 (d) in his dissent in Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Sheinbein, 372 Md. 224, 277-78, n. 12, 812 A.2d 981, 1012-13, n. 12 (2002) (Eldridge, J., dissenting). Judge Eldridge noted there that we had found violations previously of MRPC 8.4 (d) for non-criminal conduct where an attorney's personal conduct concerned his or her own legal practice or relationship with his or her clients. Id. For example, in Attorney Grievance Comm'n v. Bridges, 360 Md. 489, 514, 759 A.2d 233, 246 (2000), we held that Bridges "direct attempt to conceal inappropriate behavior" was sufficient to find a violation of MRPC 8.1 (b). That same conduct (refusing to respond to Bar Counsel's requests for information and refusing to attend a hearing before an Inquiry Panel) and concealing his whereabouts from Bar Counsel before a hearing of the I
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