# In the Matter of Gordon

> Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · January 13, 1982 · 385 Mass. 48

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9725866

## Case

- **Full name:** In the Matter of Richard K. Gordon
- **Court:** Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
- **Decided:** January 13, 1982
- **Citations:** 385 Mass. 48; 429 N.E.2d 1150; 1982 Mass. LEXIS 1229
- **Precedential status:** Published
- **Opinion:** Dissent by Nolan
- **Judges:** Hennessey, Wilkins, Liacos, Abrams, Nolan, Lynch
- **Cited by:** 18 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/9725866

## Opinion text

Nolan, J.
(dissenting). In 1975, this court unanimously granted the petition for reinstatement of an unrepentant but convicted perjurer in spite of an adverse recommendation by the Board of Bar Overseers. Matter of Hiss, 368 Mass. 447 (1975). In this case, the Board of Bar Overseers recommends the reinstatement of Gordon, but the court denies his petition.
In trying to gouge the impact of Gordon’s readmission to the bar on the public, the court reminds us of the scandal of the Boston Common Garage cases and describes them as “a notorious saga of corruption and theft.” However, by comparison with the national notoriety of the Hiss trial (see United States v. Hiss, 185 F.2d 822 [2d Cir. 1950], cert. denied, 340 U.S. 948 [1951]), Gordon’s prosecution was only a local media attraction. Gordon’s conduct for which he was convicted was reprehensible and all the more so because he was a judge at the time, but, to his credit, he does not remain obdurate and unregenerate while protesting his innocence. I find it most difficult to understand the reason for the difference in treatment between Hiss and Gordon.
I would allow Gordon’s petition for reinstatement on condition that he pass the Massachusetts bar examination.

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/9725866. Public record. Not legal advice.