Summary
In Adams v. Kentucky Bar Ass'n, 626 S.W.3d 659 (Ky. 2021), we accepted a negotiated sanction of a three-year suspension, with conditions, where an attorney admitted violating the rules of professional conduct following her conviction of an amended charge of third-degree burglary.
Summary of this case from Ousley v. Ky. Bar Ass'nOpinion
2021-SC-0150-KB
06-17-2021
Kathi Michelle ADAMS, Movant v. KENTUCKY BAR ASSOCIATION, Respondent
OPINION AND ORDER
On May 6, 2021, Kathi Michelle Adams moved for consensual discipline pursuant to Supreme Court Rule (SCR) 3.480(2) based on a negotiated sanction agreement with the Kentucky Bar Association (KBA). Adams requests an order imposing a sanction of a three-year suspension from the practice of law on condition she participate in the Kentucky Lawyers Assistance Program (KYLAP) on terms and conditions imposed by KYLAP, provide quarterly compliance reports to the Office of Bar Counsel (OBC), receive no new criminal charges during the period of suspension, and pay the costs of this proceeding. Adams acknowledges violation of any conditions of her suspension could result in the OBC seeking to revoke the suspension and request permanent disbarment. The KBA filed a response stating it had no objection to the Motion for Consensual Discipline. Because Adams and the KBA have agreed on the sanction, and our case law supports the proposed resolution in this matter, we hold this sanction to be the appropriate discipline for Adams’ conduct and grant her motion.
Adams was admitted to the practice of law in Kentucky on May 1, 2006. Her KBA number is 91161 and her bar roster address is 4848 Westport Road, Louisville, Kentucky.
Adams was charged in Christian County, Kentucky with violation of an EPO/DVO; two counts of burglary in the second degree; one count of stalking in the first degree; three counts of resisting arrest; and one count of disorderly conduct. On June 5, 2017, Adams entered a plea pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford , 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970), to a single amended charge of burglary in the third degree and received a sentence of one-year imprisonment, probated for three years. All other charges were dismissed.
On July 25, 2017, Adams entered a guilty plea in Warren Circuit Court to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs, fourth offense within ten years. She received a probated sentence of two years, imprisonment. A charge of driving on a DUI-suspended license, second offense, was dismissed. Her sentences from Christian and Warren counties were to run consecutively.
The Inquiry Commission charged Adams with violating SCR 3.130 (8.4)(b) which provides it is professional misconduct for a lawyer to "commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects." Adams admits she violated this rule by her conduct, and she and the KBA have agreed to a negotiated sanction to resolve this matter.
Under SCR 3.480(2), this Court "may consider negotiated sanctions of disciplinary investigations, complaints or charges...." Adams now moves this Court to accept this consensual discipline for her violation of SCR 3.130 (8.4)(b). She asks us to impose the sanction of a three-year suspension from the practice of law on condition of her participation in KYLAP on terms and conditions imposed by KYLAP. Adams is further to provide quarterly compliance reports to the OBC, receive no new criminal charges during the period of suspension, and pay the costs of this proceeding. The KBA, having acknowledged its review of her motion and analogous case law, stated no objection to the proposed discipline and requested we order the proposed discipline.
Adams has no prior disciplinary record and has been cooperative throughout these proceedings. Adams has participated in numerous programs seeking to obtain and maintain her sobriety, including long-term residential treatment in an out-of-state facility, and seems to be on the correct path at this time. However, we note Adams was previously suspended from the practice of law on January 20, 2017, for non-payment of her 2016-2017 KBA dues, and automatically suspended under SCR 3.166 on June 6, 2017, following her first felony conviction the previous day. No effort to obtain reinstatement appears in the record before us.
As stated by Bar Counsel, the proposed sanction is supported by the discipline imposed for similar violations in Kentucky Bar Association v. Mulliken , 353 S.W.3d 614 (Ky. 2011), and Wickersham v. Kentucky Bar Association , 585 S.W.3d 766 (Ky. 2019). The Chair of the Inquiry Commission and a Past President of the KBA reviewed and approved the sanctions. After reviewing the allegations, Adams’ previous disciplinary record, and the cases cited by the KBA, this Court concludes the discipline proposed by Adams, and agreed to by the KBA, is appropriate.
Therefore, because the KBA and Adams have agreed to the three-year suspension with conditions, the Court orders:
1. Kathi Michelle Adams’ Motion for Consensual Discipline is granted pursuant to SCR 3.480(2).
2. Adams is adjudged guilty of the above-described and admitted violation of SCR 3.130 (8.4)(b).
3. Adams is suspended from the practice of law for three years from the date of entry of this Opinion and Order for the violation, with such suspension conditioned on her participation in KYLAP on such terms and conditions as set by KYLAP; provision of quarterly compliance reports to the OBC; and that she receive no new criminal charges during the period of suspension. 4. Should Adams violate any of the foregoing conditions during the period of suspension, OBC may seek to revoke the suspension and move for permanent disbarment.
5. Pursuant to SCR 3.450, Adams is directed to pay all costs associated with this disciplinary proceeding against her, said sum being $125.85, for which execution may issue from this Court upon finality of this Opinion and Order.
/s/ John D. Minron, Jr.
CHIEF JUSTICE
All sitting. All concur.