In re Disbarment of Stephens

Citations

• 84 Cal. 77
• 24 P. 46
• 1890 Cal. LEXIS 762

Syllabus

<p>Attorneys at Law—Disbarment — Encouraging Illegal or Unjust Litigation — Motives of Passion or Interest — Inconsistent Positions. — It is a violation of the duties of an attorney at law to counsel or maintain an action or proceeding which does not appear to him to be legal or just, or to encourage the commencement or continuance of an action or proceeding from any corrupt motive of passion or interest, or to encourage the prosecution and commencement of a criminal accusation by exhibiting documents tending, if genuine, to show the guilt of the accused, and then to assume the defense of the accused without any change of mind as to the genuineness of the documents, or as to the guilt or innocence of the accused.</p> <p>Id.—Benefit of Doubts — Palliation of Unprofessional Conduct — Suspension of Attorney. — Where the evidence is substantially conflicting as to the graver features of a charge of unprofessional conduct against an attorney at law, the attorney accused thereof will be given the benefit of doubts arising from such conflict of evidence; and if the</p> <p>unprofessional conduct of which he is clearly guilty, though not excusable, is palliated by reason of the concern felt by the attorney in behalf of a brother accused of crime, the offense will not be regarded of a sufficiently grave nature to call for total disbarment, but will be punished by a temporary suspension of the attorney from practice.</p>