The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Former Bush Lawyer to Spend One Day in Jail

Scott Bloch, the former head of the Office of Special Counsel under the George W. Bush administration, was sentenced today to serve 24 months of probation and spend a day in jail. Bloch pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge of destroying government property after hiring an outside computer company to delete files from several work computers, including his own.

Bloch angled throughout the course of his case to avoid jail time. He originally pleaded guilty to a contempt of Congress charge, but successfully argued to withdraw the plea after learning he would face jail time, contrary to what both sides believed when they reached a deal. In late 2012, prosecutors charged Bloch with the related destruction of government property offense. Bloch asked for a sentence of probation, a fine and community service, which the government did not oppose.

At sentencing today, U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins said that although the crime Bloch was charged with was relatively minor, he didn't feel Bloch had fully “come clean.” Bloch maintained that he wanted the computers wiped because he was concerned about viruses, but Wilkins said Bloch left too many questions unanswered about why he ordered the service for multiple computers. At the time, Bloch was facing a still-pending investigation by the Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General into allegations of retaliation against his employees; Bloch has said his handling of the computers was unrelated.

D.C. Court Rules on Disciplining Attorneys Convicted Abroad

Updated at 5:32 p.m.

Following a flight from Washington to Incheon, South Korea, a local attorney was charged with stealing $1,100 in cash from a fellow passenger. She was found guilty of theft by a court in Incheon. The attorney was a member of the D.C. Bar, so after learning of her conviction, the Office of Bar Counsel began disciplinary proceedings as they would for a lawyer convicted in a U.S. court.

The Rockville, Md.-based lawyer, Jinhee Kim Wilde, opposed bar counsel’s efforts, arguing the rules applying to convictions in U.S. state and federal courts shouldn’t apply to convictions in foreign courts. Yesterday, a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals agreed.

The court ruled that under local law and the Rules of Professional Responsibility, a criminal conviction from a court in a foreign country can’t be treated the same as a conviction in a U.S. state or federal court. However, the court did find that the Office of Bar Counsel, which prosecutes attorney discipline cases, could bring charges and then try to prove that a foreign court proceeding was fair and the conviction should be considered. The court dismissed Wilde’s case, but left the door open for the office to bring charges of misconduct against Wilde.

Judge Releases D.C. Lawyer Jailed for Contempt

Washington lawyer and former judicial officer George Crawford was released from jail after appearing yesterday afternoon before District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Gregory Jackson.

Crawford was held in contempt for failing to pay court-ordered sanctions in a civil lawsuit over unpaid loans. Jackson released him yesterday but warned he would send him back to jail if Crawford didn't make certain monthly payments or pay the full $123,000 in sanctions within the next six months.

Crawford, a member of the D.C. Bar since 1980 with no disciplinary history, was one of several defendants sued over unpaid loans. After failing to follow court orders, he was hit with $30,000 in sanctions. He was sent to jail for the first time in December for failing to pay those sanctions. Crawford, however, was released shortly after. He then faced another $123,000 in sanctions and was jailed again on April 15 for not paying.

D.C. Lawyer Ordered to Stay in Jail for Contempt

A Washington lawyer and former judicial officer who has been in jail for more than a month for contempt will remain behind bars after appearing this afternoon before a District of Columbia Superior Court judge.

George Crawford was incarcerated on April 15th for the second time since late 2012 for failing to pay court-ordered sanctions in a civil lawsuit over unpaid loans. Following closed-door settlement talks today that lawyers later characterized in court as unsuccessful, Judge Gregory Jackson sent Crawford back to jail. The parties are scheduled to return to court to update Jackson on any progress on May 30.

Crawford's attorney, Washington solo practitioner Leonard Long Jr., declined to comment. Lead counsel for plaintiff First Washington Insurance Company, Stephen Neal Jr. of Alexandria, Va.'s DiMuroGinsberg, also declined to comment.

Washington Attorney Gets Prison for Stealing from Clients

A Washington-based attorney who admitted in January to stealing more than $100,000 intended for his clients has been sentenced to six months in prison, followed by six months of house arrest.

Deairich Hunter was sentenced Thursday for pilfering payments to settle disability and personal injury claims by his clients. As part of his punishment, Hunter was ordered by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell to pay restitution of $253,549 and forfeit $73,901.

From 2003 to 2009, Hunter was hired by clients in disputes arising from disability and personal injury claims. Many of the clients agreed he was entitled to one third of the recovery, according to court papers. Hunter failed to notify some of his clients, however, keeping settlement money for himself. Hunter was disbarred in 2009. Hunter pleaded guilty in January to theft or embezzlement related to health care.

The Morning Wrap

Disbarred: From today's National Law Journal: "Plaintiffs attorney Stanley Chesley has been disbarred from practicing law in Kentucky, and the move may crimp his ability to practice in Ohio, where his firm, Waite Schneider Bayless & Chesley, is based."

Charged: Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged the brother of Galleon Group's Raj Rajaratnam with insider trading allegations, The New York Times reports. “As alleged, Rengan Rajaratnam and his brother shared more than DNA; they also shared a penchant for insider trading,” Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in Manhattan, said.

Released: "After spending some 23 years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit, David Ranta walked out of a Brooklyn courtroom a free man yesterday after prosecutors conceded the evidence against him had "degraded" to the point that they could not prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," The New York Law Journal reports today. The New York Times background piece on the case.

Quitting: A California judge who's charged with bilking an elderly neighbor has resigned from the bench, The Recorder reports. "Judge Seeman has had a distinguished career, and he felt this was an appropriate action to take at this time for the good of the court," said Seeman's attorney, Kathleen Ewins of Long & Levit in San Francisco.

Judge Sentences Longtime D.C. Defense Lawyer to 63 Months in Prison

Updated 5:58 p.m.

Calling a defense lawyer's crime "truly unconscionable," a federal judge in Washington today sentenced a longtime Washington attorney to more than five years in prison for his role in a scheme to manufacture evidence to dupe jurors in a drug trial.

The defense lawyer, Charles Daum, who had practiced law in the District of Columbia for three decades, will serve 63 months behind bars for a plot that included staged photographs and perjured testimony.

Daum was convicted at a bench trial last year that featured a series of jail recordings and testimony from cooperators—including Daum's client, whom the defense lawyer blamed for creating and executing the plot. Daum was indicted in 2011.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler today called Daum's scheme "shocking" and said it threatened public confidence in the integrity of the judicial system. Kessler said her sentencing decision should serve as a deterrent for any lawyer "who may think of cutting a corner, not telling quite the truth to a judge."

Prosecutors Recommend 78-month Prison Sentence for D.C. Defense Lawyer

Calling him the mastermind of a conspiracy to manufacture trial evidence in a drug case, federal prosecutors in Washington are recommending a longtime defense lawyer here spend more than six years in prison.

The attorney, Charles Daum, was convicted after a six-week bench trial in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last summer on charges that included obstruction of justice. Daum, 66, had been a member of the D.C. bar for more than three decades. He is no longer practicing.

Prosecutors said Daum, with the help of two private investigators, participated in an elaborate scheme to dupe jurors into believing that drugs belonged to the brother of a client. At trial in 2008, the jury in the case against Daum's client, Delante White, failed to agree on a verdict. Prosecutors, relying on the cooperation of White and others, later determined the trial photos were staged.

"There are few things that are more an affront to the court and the justice system than a willful attempt to subvert that system, particularly when it is masterminded by a member of the court's own bar," Darrin McCullough, a U.S. Justice Department narcotics section trial attorney, said in a sentencing memo.

D.C. Circuit Upholds Conviction of Former Abramoff Lobbying Associate

The distinction between legal lobbying and criminal conduct may be subtle, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled Friday, but it spells the difference between honest politics and corruption.

In upholding the criminal conviction of a former member of Jack Abramoff's former lobbying team, the court sharpened the legal boundaries of giving politicians campaign contributions, dinners, travel and Washington Wizards tickets.

Honest-services fraud does not require public officials to explicitly agree to a quid pro quo arrangement to do an official act in exchange for "things of value," the court ruled. An implicit agreement with the public official is enough, and the official doesn't even have to accept the free meal, trip or tickets.

D.C. Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Stealing $109K

Updated at 12:52 p.m.

A now-disbarred Washington lawyer and former D.C. Council candidate, Deairich Hunter, pleaded guilty this week in federal court to stealing more than $109,000 in funds intended for his clients.

At a plea hearing January 23 before U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell, Hunter, a former solo practitioner, admitted to keeping thousands of dollars in settlements for clients in disability and personal injury cases. In at least one instance cited in court filings, he stole funds that he was supposed to use to pay the medical bills of a client injured in a car accident.

Hunter is scheduled for sentencing before Howell on April 26. He was released on personal recognizance until the hearing, and was ordered to stay in the Washington area and surrender his passport.