Agnew’s disbarment recommended

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33434, 16 January 1974, Page 13

Agnew’s disbarment recommended

LN.Z. Press Assn.—copyright) ANNAPOLIS, (Maryland), January 15.

A special three-judge panel recommended unanimously on Monday that the former VicePresident, Mr Spiro Agnew, be disbarred for ‘‘deceitful and dishonest” conduct in deliberately violating Federal income tax laws.

A final decision of Agnew’s expulsion from the legal profession will be made by

the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.

The Court had named the special panel after the Maryland Bar Association asked for disciplinary action to be taken against Mr Agnew. The state bar contended that Mr Agnew’s no contest plea to an income tax evasion charge on October 10 — the same day he resigned the Vice-Presidency — was evidence of professional misconduct.

“He understood a plea of nolo contendere to be the full equivalent of a plea of guilty to the criminal charge against him,” the three-judge panel said. “This is not a case in which a busy lawyer has

carelessly or inadvertently failed to obey the law. “The controverted evidence is that the respondent (Agnew) deliberately failed to report on his 1967 Federal income return nearly SUS3O,OOO of taxable income which he knew the law required him to report and pay taxes on.

"His conduct, characterised as it must be as deceitful and dishonest, strikes at the heart of the basic object of the legal profession and constitutes conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. We shall therefore recommend his disbarment. "We see no extenuating circumstances allowing a lesser sanction. The respondient is unfit to continue as a

member of the bar of this state.”

Mr Agnew had pleaded with the panel at a hearing on December 18 not to take away his livelihood and urged a long suspension rather than disbarment.

Mr James Norris, clerk of the Court of Appeals, said that the seven appellate judges would probably issue a decision in early April.

Mr Norris said that Mr Agnew’s lawyers have 30 days to file exceptions to the recommendation and that the High Court would hold another hearing, probably in late February or early March. Mr Agnew’s lawyer, Mr Leon Pierson, said that he would file the exceptions within 20 days and that he

had advised Mr Agnew of the panel’s action. Reached through the White House switchboard, an Agnew secretary said that the former Vice-President “will not be making a comment now.” Mr Agnew, who served as Baltimore county executive and Maryland Governor before his election as VicePresident, was alleged to have stated that his 196/ income w r as $26,099 while it was actually $55,599. The then Attorney-General. Mr Elliott Richardson, told the Court on October 10 that the Government was — in return for the no contest plea — dropping further criminal charges against Mr Agnew’, including allegations of bribery’, conspiracy, extortion, land fraud.