# Lawyer Disciplinary Board v. Brown

> West Virginia Supreme Court · May 6, 2009 · 223 W. Va. 554

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9587038

## Case

- **Full name:** LAWYER DISCIPLINARY BOARD, Petitioner v. Raymond David BROWN, Jr., an Administratively Suspended Member of the West Virginia State Bar, Respondent
- **Court:** West Virginia Supreme Court
- **Decided:** May 6, 2009
- **Citations:** 223 W. Va. 554; 678 S.E.2d 60; 2009 W. Va. LEXIS 45
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Ketchum
- **Judges:** Ketchum
- **Cited by:** 13 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

## Citator (automated)

- No negative treatment found by the automated citator. That is not the same as a confirmation that the case is good law; read the citing cases.
- Full citator and citing cases: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9587038

## Opinion text

*562 KETCHUM, J.,
dissenting:
Sometimes we need to mix a little mercy with justice.
This lawyer misappropriated his client’s funds to support his drug problem. He has since sought treatment and has straightened up his life. An indefinite suspension with the right to petition the Court for reinstatement in three years provides plenty of protection to the public.
I respectfully feel that annulling this lawyer’s license is not an appropriate sanction under the circumstances. The Hearing Panel Subcommittee of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board heard the evidence, considered the demeanor of the witnesses and of Mr. Brown, and made a careful, measured recommendation. I am not persuaded by the majority opinion’s reasoning that the recommendations of the Board should be so lightly dismissed.
I therefore dissent.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9587038. Public record. Not legal advice.