In re Nathaniel Sims

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals considered whether Nathaniel Sims’s misdemeanor conflict-of-interest offense involved moral turpitude on the facts. Sims had repeatedly dismissed parking citations issued to himself and family members while serving as a District of Columbia traffic adjudication hearing examiner, avoiding fines and penalties. The court vacated its prior remand order, concluded that the conduct constituted moral turpitude, and ordered Sims disbarred.

Holdings

1. A remand to the original hearing committee was not practicable because that committee no longer existed and could not be reconstituted; the court therefore vacated its prior remand order and decided the moral-turpitude issue itself.
2. A non-serious misdemeanor may constitute an offense involving moral turpitude when the underlying facts satisfy the governing moral-turpitude standard.
3. Sims must be disbarred from the practice of law in the District of Columbia and his name stricken from the roll of attorneys authorized to practice before the court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should vacate its prior remand order because the original hearing committee could not be reconstituted.
2. Whether Sims's non-serious misdemeanor conflict-of-interest offense constituted moral turpitude on the facts.
3. Whether Sims should be disbarred under D.C. Code § 11-2503(a).

Disposition

other