In Re Peairs

WORKS, P. J.

Respondent Howard A. Peairs is a judge of the superior court of the state of California in and for the county of Kem. He has held that position since 3913, first under appointment by the governor and afterward by successive elections by the people of the county. Judge Peairs, by appropriate order of a competent court was, in 3908, licensed to practice law in all the courts of the state. The order was made upon a written statement of two members of the bar to the effect that respondent had been admitted by the highest court of Kansas to practice law in all the courts of that state. 'Petitioners allege that respondent never was admitted to the bar by the highest court of Kansas, that he procured the statement to that effect to be made, knowing it to be false, with the fraudulent intent to deceive and mislead the tribunal to which was made his application for admission to the bar of California, and that the court was thereby misled into making the order admitting him. Petitioners allege that they “now are and for a period of more than twenty years last past have been attorneys and counselors at law, . . . duly admitted to practice in all the courts of this state, and make this petition as such attorneys.”

The matter came on for hearing upon the petition and upon the answer of respondent thereto. Counsel for respondent stated that they had with them a certificate of the supreme court of Kansas, the highest court of the state, showing that respondent had been admitted to the bar there, whereupon petitioners stated that they had no evidence to offer in support of the petition. Upon the invitation of the court the certificate showing respondent’s admission to the bar of Kansas was then offered for our inspection. The document was under the seal of the court, was in due form, and certified respondent’s admission to the bar of Kansas in 1906, two years before his application was made for admission to the bar of California.

[674]

As part of a discussion which occurred in open court during the hearing ■ petitioners admitted' that, four days before we issued our order requiring respondent to show cause why the prayer of the petition should not be granted, and more than three weeks before the hearing pursuant to the order to show cause, they had in their possession certain information which, if it did not actually show the fact, must have satisfied them, if followed up, that respondent was possessed of the certificate of admission issued to him by the Kansas court. This information was not pursued by petitioners, nor did they take steps to dismiss their petition or to halt proceedings under it.