Enid attorney suspended from practicing law in Oklahoma for 1 more year - Enid News & Eagle
Robert Faulk
The state Supreme Court has suspended an Enid attorney who’d pleaded guilty to domestic abuse from practicing the law for another year.
According to the opinion written by Justice Dustin Rowe, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma held that there is “clear and convincing evidence” that the totality of Robert Faulk’s conduct warrants a two-year suspension from the date of his interim suspension, a full year ago on Sept. 28, 2020.
Faulk was sentenced Sept. 4, 2020, after pleading guilty to a felony count of domestic abuse-prior pattern of physical abuse and a misdemeanor count of domestic abuse.
He received a two-year deferred sentence on the felony count, supervised by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, and a one-year suspended sentence on the misdemeanor count, to run consecutively with the felony count.
Earlier this year, however, a trial panel directed by the Supreme Court of Oklahoma had recommended that Faulk be suspended through the Oklahoma Bar Association from practicing law for only one year from the date of his interim suspension, with an additional year of deferred suspension.
The opinion states that the trial panel’s recommendation doesn’t mete out discipline consistent with the seriousness of Faulk’s conduct.
“(Faulk’s) history of alcohol abuse and violent behavior over the course of several years ... requires discipline consistent with the seriousness of the offense to protect the integrity of the judicial system and the reputation of the Bar,” the opinion stated.
In addition, Faulk has been ordered to pay costs totaling $2,749.85 within 90 days of the effective date of the opinion.
Faulk said in a Facebook message Tuesday evening that although he was disappointed with the ruling, he understood he “acted in a way that brought discredit to the legal profession.”
“I have taken responsibility for my actions and work hard everyday to be a better person, better father and making the community a better place, regardless of my ability to practice law,” he said in the message. “I look forward to continuing these efforts.”
The opinion states that although Faulk has made “laudable strides in his recovery,” his effective return to practice upon the Supreme Court’s decision being rendered “would undermine public trust in the legal profession.”
“Our goals in bar disciplinary matters are to protect the interests of the public and preserve the integrity of the legal profession, not to punish attorneys,” the opinion states. “With these goals in mind, we must weigh all relevant factors including those that justify severe sanctions and those that would mitigate the severity of discipline. … We also must weigh the deterrent effect of our discipline on the Respondent and the Oklahoma Bar.”
The dissenting opinion, written by Justice Doug Combs and joined by Justice Dana Kuehn and Chief Justice Richard Darby, agrees that Faulk should be disciplined and ordered to pay the costs, but asserted that a harsher punishment should’ve been given.
“The privilege to practice law is hard-earned, and the privilege to continue practicing after demonstrating unfitness to practice should be no less hard-earned,” the dissenting opinion stated. “I would disbar him.”
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source: https://www.enidnews.com/news/enid-attorney-suspended-from-practicing-law-in-oklahoma-for-1-more-year/article_03585248-20ba-11ec-b8bc-2f7998ff6f27.html
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