Miss. Bar v. Hughes
Miss. Bar v. Hughes
Opinion of the Court
¶ 1. This matter is before the Court, en banc , on the amended formal complaint filed by the Mississippi Bar against Yvonne L. Hughes, a licensed Mississippi attorney. The Bar requests reciprocal discipline based on Hughes's disbarment by the Supreme Court of Louisiana on May 11, 2007, and asks that this Court order Hughes to pay the costs and expenses of filing the formal complaint and amended formal complaint.
¶ 2. On April 22, 2004, the Supreme Court of Louisiana issued a decision removing Hughes from judicial office based on the recommendation of the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana ("Commission"). In re Judge Yvonne L. Hughes ,
¶ 3. The Supreme Court of Louisiana, which has exclusive original jurisdiction in judicial disciplinary proceedings, found that the charges filed by the Commission were substantiated by clear and convincing evidence.
¶ 4. The court found that, in Hughes's capacity as a practicing attorney, she repeatedly had taken money from clients and had failed to perform the services for which she had been retained, and then she refused to refund the fees.
¶ 5. In one such incident, Hughes accepted representation of Donald Jones, who paid her $2,500 to handle his criminal case.
¶ 6. In another matter, Troy Dews paid Hughes a $2,500 retainer to represent his nephew on criminal charges in federal district court in Mississippi.
¶ 7. In another Louisiana incident, twenty-one days prior to assuming office as a juvenile court judge, Hughes accepted representation of Dorian Ferguson in a criminal matter pending in Jefferson Parish.
¶ 8. Next, the court addressed Hughes's misconduct regarding her acceptance of a $1500 retainer to represent Lana Turner's son on a second degree murder charge.
¶ 9. The Supreme Court of Louisiana found that these and numerous similar charges involving Hughes's refusal to refund unearned fees or to account to clients had been established by clear and convincing evidence.
¶ 10. After reviewing the voluminous evidence of Hughes's attorney misconduct, the Louisiana court said the following:
The evidence clearly and convincingly establishes that as an attorney, Judge Hughes time and time again took money from people who could ill afford to pay it, did minimal or no work to earn it, and then refused to refund monies she clearly had not earned. Preying upon her clients' lack of education and lack of sophistication in legal matters, Judge Hughes either ignored or cavalierly dismissed complaints that she had failed to perform the services for which she was retained, explaining that her work was all done behind the scenes and that her fees were all earned. However, she failed to produce any records that might substantiate her claims and failed to account to her clients for their hard-earned dollars.
Such conduct is inexcusable. Judge Hughes' documented failure to account to her clients, to return unearned fees even after acknowledging that refunds were owed, to appreciate the significance of holding herself out as a notary when she holds no notary commission, and to abide by the basic rules of law that govern all citizens, not just lawyers and judges (such as campaign finance laws and valid subpoenas) is persistent and public conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that warrants discipline. We find the Lawyer Charges were proved by clear and convincing evidence and establish a pattern of misconduct relevant to our determination of the ultimate sanction to be imposed.
¶ 11. Examining her actions in her capacity as a juvenile court judge, the Supreme Court of Louisiana found that *1287Hughes had abused her parole authority by releasing at least nine hundred adult arrestees from jail in a two-year period.
¶ 12. The supreme court found that Hughes had violated "Canons 1,
¶ 13. On July 2, 2004, the Supreme Court of Louisiana, on consideration of a petition for interim suspension for threat of harm filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel, suspended Hughes on an interim basis pending further order of the court. In re Yvonne L. Hughes ,
¶ 14. The Mississippi Bar has filed a formal complaint and an amended formal complaint against Hughes in this Court requesting reciprocal discipline based on her disbarment in Louisiana. "The Supreme Court of Mississippi ... has exclusive and inherent jurisdiction of matters pertaining to attorney discipline ...."
*1288M.R.D. 1(a). Hughes is a licensed attorney in Mississippi and is subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of this Court. Mississippi Rule of Discipline 13, which governs reciprocal discipline, provides:
When an attorney should be subjected to disciplinary sanctions in another jurisdiction, such sanction shall be grounds for disciplinary action in this state, and certification of such sanction by the appropriate authority of such jurisdiction to the Executive Director of the Bar or to the Court, shall be conclusive evidence of the guilt of the offense or unprofessional conduct on which said sanction was ordered, and it will not be necessary to prove the grounds for such offense in the disciplinary proceeding in this state. The sole issue to be determined in the disciplinary proceeding in this state shall be the extent of the final discipline to be imposed on the attorney, which may be less or more severe than the discipline imposed by the other jurisdiction.
M.R.D. 13.
¶ 15. Under Rule 13, the certified copy of the order of disbarment entered by the Supreme Court of Louisiana is "conclusive evidence of the guilt of the offense or unprofessional conduct on which said sanction was ordered." M.R.D. 13. This Court will not engage in further fact finding after another jurisdiction has imposed a sanction on an attorney. Miss. Bar v. Dorhauer ,
¶ 16. This Court may impose a sanction that is more severe or less severe than that imposed by another jurisdiction. Dorhauer ,
(1) The nature of the misconduct involved; (2) the need to deter similar misconduct; (3) the preservation of dignity and reputation of the legal profession; (4) the protection of the public; (5) sanctions imposed in similar cases; (6) the duty violated; (7) the lawyer's mental state; (8) the actual or potential injury resulting from the misconduct; and (9) the existence of aggravating or mitigating factors.
Miss. Bar v. Ogletree ,
¶ 17. Under the reciprocity doctrine, "the sanction imposed in this State generally mirrors the sanction imposed in the sister state, absent extraordinary circumstances which compel, justify or support variance from the foreign jurisdiction's sanction." Miss. Bar v. Gilmer ,
¶ 18. In imposing the sanction of permanent disbarment upon Hughes, the Supreme Court of Louisiana explicitly or implicitly considered all nine criteria utilized by this Court to determine an appropriate sanction for attorney misconduct. Hughes did not respond to the Mississippi Bar's motion for reciprocal discipline, and thus she has presented no mitigating factors for our consideration. No extraordinary circumstances compel, justify, or support variance from the sanction of disbarment imposed by the Supreme Court of Louisiana. Rather, the facts ascertained by the Supreme Court of Louisiana and the discipline imposed by that court after careful consideration of Hughes's conduct under the Rules of Professional Conduct fully support this Court's imposition of the *1289sanction of disbarment. Therefore, based on the record before us, the Mississippi Rules of Discipline, and our case law, this Court finds that Yvonne L. Hughes shall be disbarred.
¶ 19. IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED as follows:
1. Yvonne L. Hughes is hereby permanently DISBARRED from the practice of law in the State of Mississippi;
2. This order shall constitute notice of permanent disbarment in this cause;
3. The Clerk of this Court shall forward an attested copy of this order to Yvonne L. Hughes and to the Executive Director of the Mississippi Bar;
4. Yvonne L. Hughes shall, within thirty days following entry of this order, notify clients and affected courts of her disbarment, properly disburse all funds she may hold in trust, and comply with all other requirements applicable to disbarred attorneys pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Discipline 11 ;
5. Yvonne L. Hughes shall, within forty-five days following entry of this order, file an affidavit with this Court stating that all of her clients have been notified of her disbarment and her consequent inability to practice law in Mississippi, and that she has complied fully with all requirements set forth in Mississippi Rule of Discipline 11, as well as the requirements of this order;
6. The Clerk of this Court shall immediately forward an attested copy of this order to the Clerks of the United States District Courts for the Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi, the Clerk of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States;
7. Costs and expenses of the formal complaint and amended formal complaint are hereby assessed against Yvonne L. Hughes.
SO ORDERED.
/s/ James W. Kitchens
JAMES W. KITCHENS, PRESIDING JUSTICE FOR THE COURT
Reference
- Full Case Name
- THE MISSISSIPPI BAR v. Yvonne L. HUGHES
- Status
- Published