Opinion · District of Columbia Court of Appeals
In re Bond
519 A.2d 165
- Type
- Opinion
- Court
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals
- Jurisdiction
- District of Columbia
- Date
- 1986-12-31
- Topic
- general
In the Matter of Clifford J. BOND, Respondent. No. 86-269. District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Submitted Oct. 20, 1986.
Citator
- Cited by
- 26 opinions
In the Matter of Clifford J. BOND, Respondent.
No. 86-269.
District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Submitted Oct. 20, 1986.
Decided Dec. 31, 1986.
Clifford J. Bond, Winston-Salem, N.C., pro se.
Thomas H. Henderson, Jr., Bar Counsel, and Michael S. Frisch, Asst. Bar Counsel, Washington, D.C., were on the brief, for the Board on Professional Responsibility.
Before PRYOR, Chief Judge, and NEBEKER and STEADMAN, Associate Judges.
By order of March 31, 1986, we suspended respondent from the practice of law, pending a formal proceeding before the Board on Professional Responsibility as to the nature of the final discipline to be imposed. We did so upon receipt of a Judgment and Probation/Commitment order filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia which indicated that respondent pleaded guilty to mail fraud and wire fraud, violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343 (1984), and to issuing a fraudulent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) construction permit in violation of 47 U.S.C. § 301 (1986) and § 501 (1962). The Board found that respondent’s offenses involved moral turpitude per se, requiring disbarment, under D.C.Code § ll-2503(a) (1981).1
A crime in which an intent to defraud is an essential element is a crime involving moral turpitude per se. In re Anderson, 474 A.2d 145 (D.C.1984); In re Willcker, 447 A.2d 1198 (D.C.1982). Specific intent to defraud is required for convictions under the federal mail and wire fraud statutes, and the fraud must be active rather than constructive. See, e.g., United States v. Alston, 197 U.S.App.D.C. 276, 283, 609 F.2d 531, 538 (1979); Post v. United States, 132 U.S.App.D.C. 189, 199, 407 F.2d 319, 329 (1968), cert. denied, 391 U.S. 1092, 89 S.Ct. 863, 21 L.Ed.2d 784 (1969). Thus, respondent has been convicted of at least two offenses2 “involving moral turpitude,” and his disbarment is mandated by the statute. Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that respondent, Clifford J. Bond, is disbarred from the practice of law in the District of Columbia, pursuant to D.C.Code § ll-2503(a) (1981).
So ordered.