In Re Gossage

While addicted to drugs and alcohol, Eben Gossage (Gos-sage) killed his sister under circumstances involving moral turpitude, and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter. He committed other crimes involving dishonesty and moral turpitude around the same time, and was convicted of several forgeries. After committing his last felony offense, and after serving his most recent term in prison, Gossage took steps to change his life. He overcame substance abuse, attended college and law school, and sought admission to the State Bar.

However, while preparing to become a lawyer, Gossage sustained numerous misdemeanor convictions involving, for the most part, willful failure to appear in court and willful failure to obey court orders. These recent offenses are reminiscent of Gossage’s behavior in prior judicial proceedings, when he failed to make court-ordered appearances and violated court-ordered conditions of probation and parole. Moreover, of the 17 criminal convictions received throughout his adult life, Gossage mentioned only four on his application for admission. Such omissions occurred even though full disclosure was required, and even though he swore his application was…