in court swearing that he had no knowledge of evidence at the time of trial to allow for a new trial. He was accused of “knowingly, falsely, cor- ruptly, willfully, and wickedly” lying. The use of words like “wickedly” introduces a moral ele-
ment into the offense. 89
90 91 92 93 94 95
In re Jones, 70 Vt. 71 (1898). In re Enright, 67 Vt. 351 (1895). In re Knight, 129 Vt. 428 (1971). In re Fayette, 127 Vt. 488 (1969). In re Calhoun, 127 Vt. 220 (1968). In re Knapp, 127 Vt. 222 (1968).
In re Themelis, 117 Vt. 19 (1951). The com- missioner, who prosecuted, had petitioned for
disbarment. 96
In re Holden, 114 Vt. 184 (1945). The attor- ney had been in the jury room talking to one ju- ror, within the hearing of two others, for about five minutes, and there was no evidence he was talking about a case on trial or other litigation or anything to do with court or court procedure, but lying about it triggered the suspension. The sanction was imposed for speaking a “falsehood
in court.” 97
98 In re Goodrich, 111 Vt. 156 (1940).
In re Wakefield, 107 Vt. 180 (1935). This sus- pension was justified by treating the Code of Professional Ethics adopted by the Vermont Bar Association as authority, as well as an opinion of the ABA Committee on Professional Conduct (1935). This case was prosecuted by the attorney
general. 99
In re Aldrich, 86 Vt. 531 (1913). Prosecuted by the attorney general and state’s attorney, who sought disbarment. In this case, a committee ap- pointed by the Court conducted the investiga- tion and provided a recommendation. Respon- dent had agreed to accept half of the recovery. The case involved multiple counts, most of them dismissed by the Court, including one in which respondent was accused of embezzling client’s funds by charging too much for his services, be- cause he was adhering to a rule of the Orleans county bar adopting “term fees,” although the Court explained, “excessive charges cannot be justified by a rule of the bar association.” See Davis v. Farwell, 80 Vt. 166 (1907), recognizing the right of an attorney to retain client’s money
as security for the payment of his fees. 100
In re McShane, 122 Vt. 442 (1961). 101
In re Paddock, 114 Vt. 207 (1945). In the midst of a trial, respondent was called to guard the Whitingham dam for two weeks, then to guard the General Electric plant at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, then to an aircraft plant, return- ing to his office each week to work in his law
practice for a day and a half a week. 102
MARK TWAIN, THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY
FINN 912 (Library of America 1982) (“[I]f I knowed what a trouble it was to make a book I wouldn’t a tackled it and ain’t agoing to no more. But I reck- on I got to light out to the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can’t stand it. I been there
before.”) 103
104
In re Enright, 67 Vt. 351 (1895). 67 Vt. at 352.
105 In re Enright, 69 Vt. 317 (1897). 106
107 In re Jones, 70 Vt. 71 (1897). 108
69 Vt. at 319. 70 Vt. at 78.
109 70 Vt. at 87. Judge Henry Start dissented, ex-
pressing his belief that the case should be re- turned to the commissioners for evidence of cus- tom and usage by state’s attorneys. Judge Lafor- rest Thompson, who wrote the majority opinion, agreed with Start that it should be recommitted, but acknowledged that disbarment was the de- cision of the majority, and stated that he would abide by the ruling. Surveyor Maynard H. Welch was convicted of the unauthorized practice of law and criminal
www.vtbar.org THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • FALL 2013 21
contempt in 1962, for assisting in the drafting of deeds for a client. In the decision, the Court stressed that the policy of preventing unauthor- ized persons to practice law rests upon the necessity of protecting the public rather than the lawyer. It is essen- tial to the administration of justice and the proper protection of society that only qualified persons duly licensed be permit- ted to engage in the practice of law … We cannot over-emphasize the necessity of le- gal training in the proper drafting of legal documents and advice relating thereto. The absence of such training may result in legal instruments faulty in form and con- tents, and also lead to a failure of purpose, litigation, and expense. In re Welch, 123 Vt. 180 (1962). 110 In re Jones, 70 Vt. at 87.
111 In re Aldrich, 86 Vt. 531 (1913). 112
86 Vt. at 536.
113 In re Wakefield, 107 Vt. 180 (1935). 114 In re Goodrich, 111 Vt. 156 (1940). 111 Vt. at 159. 111 Vt. at 160.
115 116
117 In re Themelis, 117 Vt. 19 (1951). 118
117 Vt. at 23-25. 119 In re Fayette, 127 Vt. 488 (1969).
120 In re Calhoun, 127 Vt. 220 (1968), reacting to In re Fayette, 127 Vt. at 490. 127 Vt. at 223-224.
In re McShane, 122 Vt. 442 (1961). 121
122 In re Knapp, 127 Vt. 222 (1968). 123
124 Id. 125 In re McShane, 122 Vt. at 433.
126 In re Monaghan, 126 Vt. 53, 68 (1966). 127 Report of the Professional Responsibility Pro-
gram for FY 2000, available at
https://www.ver-
montjudiciary.org /LC/Shared%20Documents/
AR-PRB-00.pdf. 128
In re Diamond, 134 Vt. 609 (1976). 129 State v. Hohman, 138 Vt. 502 (1980). 130 In re Axelrod, 150 Vt. 136 (1988).
131 In re Unnamed Attorney, 156 Vt. 565 (1991). 132
Id. Administrative Order No. 9, Permanent Rules Governing Establishment and Operation of the Professional Responsibility Program, https://
www.vermontjudiciary.org/LC/Shared%20Doc- uments/Supreme%20Court%20Administra- tive%20Order%20No.%209%20and%20Rules_
AmendmentsthroughOctober%2031_2011.pdf. 133
gestpre2005.txt. 134
id=634. 135
PROFESSION 103-107 (1980). 136
trans., 1953, 1961). 137
1984).
http://info.libraries.vermont.gov/prb/prbdi- http://www.quotedb.com/quote.php?quote JANET MALCOLM, PSYCHOANALYSIS: THE IMPOSSIBLE THE ETHICS OF ARISTOTLE 195 (J.A.K. Thomson, CARL N. DEGLER, OUT OF OUR PAST 9 (1959,
Ruminations: The Great Falls
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