In re Battin

I respectfully dissent.

In my view, an attorney who holds both his licensure to practice law and a public office as well carries two separate and independent obligations: that to his clients, the courts and his profession because he is an attorney, and that to the public at large because he is an officeholder. Although these responsibilities are parallel and indeed occasionally overlap, I think of them as unattached and disjoined. The professional obligation, fiduciary as to the client, arises from his status as a lawyer and is governed by special rules of professional conduct found in the Business and Professions Code following section 6076, West’s Annotated California Codes. The public obligation, created by the assumption of his office, is owed to the public at large and is of the same general nature as that held by other public officials, lawyers or nonlawyers alike.

Mr. Battin as a citizen was convicted by a jury of a violation of Penal Code section 424, subdivision 2, the misuse of public funds. Appropriate punishment was imposed for the offense, consisting of both confinement and a fine.

In addition, Mr. Baffin’s conduct was independently evaluated by his professional…

Petitioner, a practicing lawyer and former member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, was convicted of misuse of public funds (Pen. Code, § 424, subd. 2). Following our receipt of notice of the conviction we referred the matter to the State Bar for report and recommendation. We must now decide whether his offense or the manner in which he committed it warrants discipline.

The facts related to his conviction are set forth at length in the Court of Appeal opinion written by Justice McDaniel, with Kaufman, Acting P. J., and Morris, J., concurring. (People v. Battin (1978) 77 Cal.App.3d 635, 643-646 [ 143 Cal.Rptr. 731 ].) The introductory paragraphs read as follows:

Justice McDaniel explained in the Court of Appeal opinion that he had “roughly categorized defendant’s grounds into six headings: (1) challenge to the application of Penal Code section 424, subdivision 2; (2) the constitutionality of Penal Code section 424, subdivision 2; (3) failures in proof and errors in jury instructions; (4) various procedural grounds; (5) claims of discriminatory prosecution; and (6) conflict of interest.” ( 77 Cal.App.3d at p. 647 .)

Each of those headings introduces an…