Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Kleinsmith

Summary

The Kentucky Supreme Court granted the Kentucky Bar Association’s petition for reciprocal discipline against Philip M. Kleinsmith. The court imposed a public reprimand and one year of probation, subject to early termination upon completion of an approved ethics program, based on discipline previously imposed by the Arizona Supreme Court.

Holdings

1. A final adjudication in another jurisdiction that an attorney was guilty of misconduct conclusively establishes that misconduct for purposes of a Kentucky disciplinary proceeding.
2. An attorney is subject to identical discipline in Kentucky following an out-of-state disciplinary judgment unless the attorney proves by substantial evidence a lack of jurisdiction or fraud in the out-of-state proceeding, or that the misconduct warrants substantially different discipline in Kentucky.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Arizona Supreme Court's disciplinary judgment constituted a final adjudication establishing Kleinsmith's misconduct for purposes of Kentucky reciprocal discipline.
2. Whether Kleinsmith demonstrated a jurisdictional defect, fraud, or grounds for substantially different discipline so as to avoid identical reciprocal discipline in Kentucky.
3. What reciprocal discipline should be imposed under SCR 3.435.

Disposition

other