Summary
The Eighth Circuit affirmed district court orders imposing reciprocal disbarment on Reginald S. McCullough and Darrell F. Brown, Sr., following their disbarment by the Supreme Court of Arkansas. The court held that the district court was not required to conduct an evidentiary hearing under Rule II.D of the Eastern District of Arkansas's Model Federal Rules of Discipline Enforcement, distinguishing proceedings under Rule V. The appellants also failed to provide the state disbarment orders and underlying records necessary to show error on the face of the prior proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court was required to hold an evidentiary hearing before imposing reciprocal discipline under Rule II.D of its Model Federal Rules of Discipline Enforcement.
- Whether the appellants demonstrated on the face of the state-court record that the district court erred in imposing identical reciprocal discipline.
Holdings
- Rule II.D does not mandate an evidentiary hearing before a district court determines whether to impose identical reciprocal discipline based on discipline imposed by another court.
- The appellants did not establish that the district court failed to properly apply Rule II.D, so the district court's orders imposing reciprocal disbarment were affirmed.
Key quotations
“No hearing is mandated before this Rule II.D determination.” (688 F.3d at 907)
“Due process does not require relitigation of valid prior judgments.” (688 F.3d at 908)
Factual background
The Supreme Court of Arkansas issued orders disbarring Reginald S. McCullough and Darrell F. Brown, Sr., and terminating their licenses to practice law. The federal district court initiated reciprocal-discipline proceedings and gave them an opportunity to respond. They challenged the state proceedings as lacking due process and requested an evidentiary hearing, but the district court imposed identical disbarment after reviewing their response and the appellate record did not contain the Arkansas disbarment orders or underlying state-court records.
Procedural history
The Supreme Court of Arkansas disbarred McCullough and Brown. The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas issued orders requiring them to show cause why identical discipline should not be imposed under Rule II of the district's Model Federal Rules of Discipline Enforcement. After reviewing their joint response, the district court imposed reciprocal disbarment without an evidentiary hearing. The Eighth Circuit affirmed.