Opinion
No. 584 S 173.
January 5, 2007.
Order denying petition to expunge private reprimand
On October 19, 2006, Respondent filed with this Court a petition to expunge a private reprimand that had been entered in this matter on June 26, 1985. Implicit in his request is Respondent's desire to be a candidate for the Allen Superior Court. He says that he seeks expungement of this private reprimand because Indiana law at I.C. 33-33-2-10(a)(3) provides that a candidate for Judge in the Allen Superior Court "may not previously have had any disciplinary sanction imposed upon the person by the supreme court disciplinary commission of Indiana or any similar body in another state."
Respondent has provided us with materials indicating that since the entry of that private reprimand more than twenty years ago, he has conducted himself in an exemplary manner and has had a successful and productive career in the practice of law. However, this Court has no procedures for expunging a lawyer's record of professional misconduct and believes that the policy considerations that underlie the lawyer discipline system counsel against adopting such procedures. Furthermore, Respondent's petition is in effect a request for judicial relief from the statutory restrictions imposed by the legislature on candidates for Judge in the Allen Superior Court. Since this is a legislatively imposed restriction, we feel constrained by the General Assembly's directive.
This Court, being duly advised, now finds that the Respondent's petition to expunge his private reprimand should be denied.
IT IS, THEREFORE, ORDERED that Respondent's Petition to Expunge Private Reprimand is hereby DENIED.
The Clerk of this Court is directed to forward notice of this Order to the respondent or his attorney and to the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
DONE at Indianapolis, Indiana, this 5th day of January, 2007.
All Justices concur.