In re Blair

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals adopted the Board on Professional Responsibility’s recommendation and disbarred Walter L. Blair. The court held that his federal conviction for witness tampering under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(3) constituted a crime of moral turpitude per se, requiring disbarment; the sanction would run for reinstatement purposes from the filing of a fully compliant affidavit under D.C. Bar Rule XI, § 14(g).

Holdings

1. Witness tampering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(3) is a crime involving moral turpitude per se.
2. Disbarment is the appropriate and mandatory sanction for Blair's witness-tampering conviction.
3. Blair's disbarment runs, for purposes of reinstatement, from the date he files an affidavit fully complying with D.C. Bar Rule XI, § 14(g).

Questions Presented

1. Whether Blair's conviction for witness tampering under 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(3) involved moral turpitude per se.
2. Whether disbarment was the mandatory disciplinary sanction for Blair's conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude per se.
3. When Blair's disbarment should become effective for purposes of reinstatement.

Disposition

other