In re Proceedings for the Disbarment of Robinson

Citations

• 48 Wash. 153
• 92 P. 929
• 1907 Wash. LEXIS 878

Syllabus

<p>Attorney and Client — Disbarment—Jurisdiction. The supreme court has inherent original jurisdiction, irrespective of statutes, to suspend or disbar an attorney for contemptuous conduct.</p> <p>Same — Grounds—Contemptuous Conduct. An attorney is guilty of contemptuous conduct warranting his suspension from practice, under Bal. Code, §47G5, requiring an attorney to maintain due respect for the court and to refrain from any artifice or false statement and all offensive personality, where his petition for a rehearing attempts to intimidate the court into rendering a favorable decision by setting forth that scandalous and offensive rumors are current to the effect that a majority of the court had prejudged the case and agreed to dismiss the appeal in return for political favors received, and that the only way to refute such scandals and uphold the dignity of the court would be to deny the motion to dismiss and hear the case on its merits.</p> <p>Same — Defenses—Disavowal—Sentence. A disavowal of improper motive in the employment of scandalous and contemptuous language in a petition for a rehearing, with an apology, will not oe considered a complete defense to disbarment proceedings, where the attorney had long experience at the bar; and the offense being flagrant, mere reprimand is insufficient, and the attorney wm he suspended for six months, and costs of briefs taxed against him.</p>