Opinion
No. 701, 2002
Submitted: January 14, 2003
Decided: January 27, 2003 Corrected: January 30, 2003
Board Case No. 11, 2002
Accepted.
Unpublished opinion is below.
IN THE MATTER OF A MEMBER OF THE BAR OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE: ELIZABETH K. HOWARD, Petitioner. No. 701, 2002 In the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware. Submitted: January 14, 2003 Decided: January 27, 2003 Corrected: January 30, 2003
Before VEASEY, Chief Justice, WALSH, and BERGER, Justices.
WALSH, Justice
ORDER
This 30th day of January 2003, it appears to the Court that:
(1) On April 16, 1996, this Court placed the petitioner, Elizabeth K. Howard (formerly Rodriguez), on disability inactive status. On July 16, 1996, the Court removed Howard from disability inactive status, reinstated her as a member of the Delaware Bar, and placed her on interim suspension pending the resolution of disciplinary proceedings. Ultimately, following further disciplinary charges, which resulted in further disciplinary proceedings, this Court issued an order on March 14, 2002 suspending Howard from the practice of law for four years retroactive to April 16, 1996. We remanded the matter to the Board on Professional Responsibility to consider Howard's petition for reinstatement.
(2) The Office of Disciplinary Counsel did not oppose Howard's petition, and the parties filed a stipulation containing conditions for Howard's reinstatement. On September 25, 2002, a panel of the Board held a hearing on the matter. In a report filed on December 12, 2002, the Board found that Howard had met the standards for reinstatement and should be reinstated subject to the stipulated conditions, which include a four-year period of probation following her reinstatement, among other conditions.
(3) The Court has reviewed the Board's Report and Recommendations carefully. The Court has determined that the Board's Report and Recommendations should be adopted with the further clarification that Howard shall make full restitution as ordered by the Board, including payment of costs of the reinstatement proceedings as well as the costs of the prior disciplinary proceedings, within ten years of her reinstatement.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED the Board's Report and Recommendations are hereby ACCEPTED. Howard shall be reinstated, effective immediately, as a member of the Bar of this Court subject to all of the conditions set forth in the attached Report.