In re the Disciplinary Proceeding Against Kronenberg

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court affirmed the Disciplinary Board’s decision to disbar Donald B. Kronenberg for bribing and tampering with a witness, deceiving prosecutors, and being unfit to practice law. The court held that the evidence supported the findings of misconduct and that any errors involving hearsay and polygraph evidence were harmless. The court also concluded that disbarment was appropriate under the applicable disciplinary standards.

Holdings

1. The hearing officer's findings that Kronenberg intended to bribe or tamper with J.D. and that the purported civil settlement was a ruse to conceal the bribery were supported by the record.
2. Admission of hearsay evidence under ELC 10.14(d)(1), when it is the kind of evidence on which reasonably prudent persons rely in conducting their affairs, satisfies procedural due process in attorney disciplinary proceedings.
3. Any error in admitting disputed hearsay evidence was harmless because the declarants testified and were subject to cross-examination, and the same facts were established by other evidence.
4. Polygraph reports were inadmissible absent stipulation from both parties and did not satisfy ELC 10.14(d)(1), but their admission was harmless because overwhelming independent evidence supported the hearing officer's findings.
5. Disbarment was the appropriate sanction for Kronenberg's intentional witness tampering, deception, and interference with the administration of justice.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the hearing officer's factual findings that Kronenberg intended to bribe or tamper with J.D. and used a purported civil settlement as a cover were supported by the record.
2. Whether admission of hearsay evidence under ELC 10.14(d)(1) violated Kronenberg's procedural due process rights.
3. Whether any error in admitting disputed hearsay evidence was harmless.
4. Whether polygraph reports were admissible under ELC 10.14(d)(1) and, if not, whether their admission was harmless.
5. Whether disbarment was the appropriate sanction for Kronenberg's witness tampering, deception, and related misconduct, including whether disciplinary delay mitigated the sanction.

Disposition

other