ETHICS
Christopher Dodd
In In re Disciplinary Matter Involving Stockler, the supreme court held that suspension was the appropriate sanction for an attorney’s misconduct, since willfully failing to file income tax returns was a violation of ALASKA RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT 8.4(b)(“a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer”), but did not qualify as a “serious crime” under ALASKA RULES OF BAR 26(b). In 2014, Stockler plead guilty to three misdemeanor counts of willful failure to file returns for tax years 2006, 2008, and 2009, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7203. He was sentenced to 14 months imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, and $886,058 in restitution to the IRS. Stockler and the Alaska Bar Association’s Disciplinary Board entered into a stipulation for discipline by consent for violation of Alaska R. Prof. Conduct Rule 8.4(b), which deems it professional misconduct for a lawyer to commit a “criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.” Prior to the stipulation, the supreme court held that willfully failing to file income tax returns was not a “serious crime” under ALASKA RULES OF BAR 26(b). However, the supreme court agreed that Stockler violated ALASKA RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT 8.4(b), reasoning that his repeated failure to file tax returns reflected a disrespect for the law and undermined the public confidence in the integrity of officers of the court, and that a tax loss of $886,058.00 was an actual injury to the United States Treasury and citizens. The supreme court suspended Stockler for eighteen months, with six months suspended. Agreeing with the Bar Association’s Disciplinary Board, the supreme court held that willfully failing to file income tax returns was a violation of ALASKA RULES OF PROF’L CONDUCT 8.4(b), and that suspension was the appropriate sanction.
