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DuBose needs stronger penalty, court rules
The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Alabama State Bar Association's disciplinary commission did not penalize Jackson attorney and Democratic circuit judge nominee Stuart DuBose severely enough for his involvement in the preparation of a will for a man he never met. The bar had accepted a "conditional guilty plea" from DuBose and imposed a 45-day law license suspension that would have started the day after the Nov. 7 general election when he would formally be elected to the First Judicial Circuit judgeship. The suspension would have ended in late December, weeks before he takes office on Jan. 15. Some critics suggested that the suspension was too accommodating in that it was dated so as to not infringe on DuBose's ability to be elected or his eligibility to become judge. If he was not licensed on either of the above dates, he could not become judge. Now, the bar must revisit the case. A longer suspension could endanger his eligibility. A permanent loss of license-a disbarment-would also prohibit him from taking office. The Supreme Court reviews all disciplinary actions taken by the bar against attorneys and must approve or reject the actions. In this case, eight of the nine justices agreed that the DuBose penalty was not severe enough. Their order was brief and to the point: "The request of the Alabama State Bar for the entry of an order suspending Stuart Craig DuBose from the practice of law for a period of 45 days, effective November 8, 2006, upon his conditional plea of guilty to violations of Rules 1.1, 1.4(b), 1.7(b), 1.8(c), and 8.4(g), Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, is denied for insufficiency of discipline based on the record before the Court." Chief Justice Nabers and Justices See, Lyons, Harwood, Woodall, Stuart, Smith, Bolin and Parker concurred in the case. Justice Smith did not sign the order. The matter started in 2003 when Cheryl Weaver of Washington County came to DuBose and asked him to prepare a will for Joseph W. Sullivan. She told DuBose that she was a friend and caregiver and he wanted to leave his entire estate to her. Without talking to Sullivan, DuBose drafted the will. Sullivan signed it and died shortly afterwards. Weaver met again with DuBose and agreed to a percentage fee if the will and estate was disputed in court. First, relatives of Sullivan disputed the will and it was settled out of court. Next, Weaver and DuBose, now co-executors of the estate, had disagreements over the estate. The contest was moved from Washington County to Mobile County where it was settled out of court recently. The judge in the matter ruled that a $1.2 million legal fee, about 40 percent of the estate value of $2.5 million was "reasonable and necessary" and allowed DuBose to continue as the estate executor. The complaint against DuBose was termed an "anonymous" one, although many local lawyers said they did not know the bar acted on anonymous complaints. DuBose said initially that he agreed to the disciplinary action to put the matter behind him so that he could become a judge. DuBose won the Democratic nomination in June after a heated campaign with Chris Bailey, another Jackson attorney. The victory margin was just under 100 votes out of 19,000 cast in the circuit that includes Choctaw, Clarke and Washington counties. He has no Republican opposition and his election on Nov. 7 is only a formality. But that may now be affected by whatever action the bar takes. It is not certain what would happen if DuBose cannot hold office. The governor fills vacancies by appointment but this is an unusual situation and no one is sure how the matter would be handled if DuBose cannot become judge.
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