In Re Mash

California Court of Appeal Nov 3, 1915 No. Civ. No. 1684.Published

Before: Lennon

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Holding. The court held that an attorney's failure to disclose prior criminal convictions and disbarments in other jurisdictions when applying for admission to the bar constitutes a fraud upon the court, warranting the revocation of his license. The applicant has an affirmative duty to reveal any circumstances from his past professional life that would influence the court's determination of his moral character.

Issues

Whether an attorney's failure to disclose prior disbarments and criminal convictions to the court at the time of his application for admission constitutes fraud.
Whether an applicant may unilaterally decide that prior adverse proceedings are immaterial and therefore withhold them from the court.

Disposition. License revoked and name stricken from the roll of attorneys.

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“the failure of the respondent at the time he made application to be admitted as a practitioner of the law in this state, to reveal the fact of his several convictions of offenses against the law and his subsequent disbarments in other jurisdictions, constituted a fraud upon the court.”

“Regardless of whether the charges previously preferred against the respondent were well or ill founded, we hold that it was his duty to reveal to this court the fact that they had been preferred and prosecuted and had resulted in his conviction and disbarment.”

Synopsis

APPLICATION originally made to the District Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District for an order revoking license of an attorney at law.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the court.

Lloyd S. Ackerman, John B. Clayberg, and Charles M. BufEord, for Bar Association of San Francisco, Petitioner.

LENNON, P. J.

The respondent herein, Samuel Lawrence Mash, was by an order of this court made and entered on the thirteenth day of July, 1913, admitted to practice law in all the courts of this state, upon motion made in open court and

[693]

the presentation of a license to practice law in the state of Utah granted and issued to said Mash by the supreme court of that state on or about the first day of July, 1909. Thereafter on May 28, 1915, the Bar Association of the city and county of San Francisco presented to and filed with this court a verified accusation against the respondent herein, charging him with knowingly and intentionally failing to reveal to this court upon the hearing of the motion for his admission to the bar of this state the fact that he had been previously disbarred from the practice of the law and convicted of several infractions of the law in other jurisdictions.

In this behalf the accusation of the Bar Association avers:

“ (a) That on or about January 21, 1891, said Samuel Lawrence Mash was admitted to the bar of the state of Iowa; that on or about January 16, 1896, Samuel Lawrence Mash was convicted by the district court of the United States for the southern district of Iowa of using the United States mails for the purpose of defrauding, and was sentenced by said court to serve eighteen months in the penitentiary at Fort Madison, Iowa; that upon said Samuel Lawrence Mash’s agreement to leave the state of Iowa permanently said sentence was suspended. . . .

“ (b) That on or about the fifteenth day of May, 1900, said Samuel Lawrence Mash was sentenced by the superior court of Milwaukee County, state of Wisconsin, to serve ninety days in jail upon conviction by said court of keping a house of ill-fame; that said Samuel Lawrence Mash was charged with and convicted of said offense under the name of S. M. Marsh, but that said S. M. Marsh and Samuel Lawrence Mash are identically one and the same person. . . .

“(c) That on or about April 9, 1903, said Samuel Lawrence Mash was admitted to the bar of the state of Illinois; that on or about January 14, 1905, said Samuel Lawrence Mash was duly convicted and sentenced to serve a term in the penitentiary by the superior court of Cook County, state of Illinois, for the crime of harboring; that on June 16, 1906, the said Samuel Lawrence Mash was regularly and legally disbarred in the State of Illinois. . . .

In Re Mash

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Synopsis

LENNON, P. J.

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