State of Nebraska ex rel. Counsel for Discipline of the Nebraska Supreme Court v. Evangelos A. Argyrakis

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court considered the appropriate discipline for Evangelos A. Argyrakis after he pleaded no contest to a Class IIIA felony involving abuse of his elderly father. The court held that the conviction constituted a crime of violence, found no sufficient mitigation beyond his lack of prior disciplinary history, and concluded that disbarment was warranted. Argyrakis was disbarred effective immediately.

Holdings

1. Because attorney-discipline cases are original proceedings before the Nebraska Supreme Court, the court reviews the referee's recommendations de novo on the record and reaches an independent conclusion.
2. In determining the appropriate discipline, the court considers the nature of the offense, deterrence, the reputation of the bar, protection of the public, the respondent's attitude, and the respondent's present or future fitness to practice law; it also considers the attorney's conduct throughout the proceeding, aggravating and mitigating factors, and sanctions imposed in prior similar cases.
3. Disbarment is the appropriate sanction for Argyrakis's felony conviction involving actual physical violence against an elderly person, given the nature of the offense, his failure to accept responsibility, failure to report the conviction and sentence, and the need to protect the reputation of the bar and public confidence in the profession.

Questions Presented

1. What standard of review applies to the referee's recommendations in an original attorney-discipline proceeding?
2. What disciplinary sanction is appropriate for an attorney's felony conviction involving actual physical violence, considering the traditional sanction factors and aggravating and mitigating circumstances?
3. Whether Argyrakis's mental-health evidence and lack of prior discipline warranted mitigation of the sanction.

Disposition

other