STATE ex rel. OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION v. WINTORY

Summary

The Oklahoma Supreme Court, on rehearing, imposed reciprocal discipline on Richard M. Wintory based on his 90-day suspension in Arizona. The court found that Wintory repeatedly failed to disclose the full extent of his communications with a confidential intermediary in a capital murder case and misled defense counsel, co-counsel, the trial court, and the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The court suspended him from practicing law in Oklahoma for two years and one day.

Holdings

1. The Oklahoma Supreme Court has a nondelegable constitutional responsibility to regulate the practice of law and exercises exclusive original jurisdiction over attorney-discipline proceedings.
2. Documents imposing discipline in another jurisdiction and transmitted under Rule 7.7 constitute the charge and prima facie evidence that the respondent committed the described acts.
3. Under Rule 7.7, a respondent may not relitigate the facts underlying a foreign disciplinary adjudication; any challenge to the foreign fact-finding is limited to evidence contained in a certified transcript from that proceeding.
4. The Court may impose discipline equal to, greater than, or less than the discipline imposed by the foreign jurisdiction, and Wintory's repeated lack of candor and misleading filings warranted suspension from Oklahoma practice for two years and one day.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Oklahoma Supreme Court had original and exclusive jurisdiction to impose reciprocal discipline on an Oklahoma-licensed attorney disciplined in another jurisdiction.
2. Whether the Arizona disciplinary materials constituted prima facie evidence of the misconduct and whether Wintory could relitigate the underlying facts under Rule 7.7.
3. What discipline was appropriate in Oklahoma for Wintory's misconduct, including whether the circumstances warranted discipline greater than the ninety-day Arizona suspension.

Disposition

other