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imposing a fitness requirement for failure to file income taxes
Summary of this case from In re Ayres-FountainOpinion
No. 93-BG-964.
Submitted February 25, 1997.
Decided March 27, 1997.
Before KING, RUIZ, and REID, Associate Judges.
Respondent Lloyd N. Moore, a tax attorney and managing partner of his law firm, pleaded guilty in June 1993, pursuant to a plea agreement, to one count of willful failure to file federal income tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203 (1994), a misdemeanor. Upon consideration of his guilty plea, on August 11, 1993, this court suspended Moore from the practice of law in the District of Columbia. Moore filed a timely affidavit of compliance pursuant to D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14.
The Board on Professional Responsibility ("Board") found that respondent was guilty of a "serious crime" under the Rules of the D.C. Court of Appeals, and that Moore had committed multiple violations of DR 1-102(A)(4) by engaging in dishonest conduct and misrepresentation, and had violated DR 1-102(A)(5) by engaging in conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. The Board also found that Moore's conduct did not constitute moral turpitude per se, see In re McBride, 602 A.2d 626 (D.C. 1992) (en banc), and therefore Moore is not subject to automatic disbarment under D.C. Code § 2503(a) (1996 Repl.). The Board recommends that Moore be suspended from the practice of law in the District of Columbia for a period of three years nunc pro tunc to August 11, 1993, with a showing of fitness required for reinstatement, and recommends that a determination be made at the time Moore applies for reinstatement whether a probationary condition should be imposed.
D.C. Bar R. XI, § 10(b) defines "serious crime" to include "willful failure to file income tax returns. . . ."
Neither respondent Moore nor Bar Counsel take exception to the report and recommendation of the Board in this matter. Pursuant to D.C. Bar R. XI, § 9(g)(2), we impose the sanctions recommended by the Board; therefore it is
ORDERED that respondent is hereby suspended from the practice of law in this jurisdiction for three years, nunc pro tunc to August 11, 1993, with a showing of fitness required for reinstatement. It is further ORDERED that when Moore applies for reinstatement, the Board shall make a determination whether probation and monitoring should be imposed as a condition of reinstatement.
So ordered.