In re Jenkins ( 2023 )

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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA COURT OF APPEALS
No. 23-BG-0545
IN RE MARYLIN JENKINS, RESPONDENT.
An Administratively Suspended Member of the
Bar of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals
(Bar Registration No. 390626)
On Report and Recommendation of the Board on Professional
Responsibility Ad Hoc Hearing Committee
Approving Petition for Negotiated Discipline
(Disciplinary Docket No. 2022-D094)
(Board Docket No. 23-ND-002)
(Decided: July 27, 2023)
Before HOWARD and ALIKHAN, Associate Judges, and FISHER, Senior Judge.
PER CURIAM: This decision is non-precedential. Please refer to D.C. Bar
R. XI, § 12.1(d) regarding the appropriate citation of this opinion.
In this matter, the Hearing Committee recommends approval of a petition for
negotiated attorney discipline. See D.C. Bar R. XI, § 12.1(c). Respondent Marylin
Jenkins voluntarily acknowledged that, in connection with applying for a job in
California, she concealed her prior discipline in this jurisdiction (a 2016 reprimand
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for a violation of D.C. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(c)), her prior employment out of which
that 8.4(c) violation arose, and even her admission to the D.C. Bar. As a result,
Ms. Jenkins admits that she (again) violated D.C. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(c) (conduct
involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation), as well as the
corresponding and substantially similar Cal. R. Prof. Conduct 8.4(c) (conduct
involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or reckless or intentional misrepresentation).
The proposed discipline consists of a 30-day suspension.
Having reviewed the Hearing Committee’s recommendation in accordance
with our procedures in uncontested disciplinary cases, see D.C. Bar R. XI, § 12.1(d),
we agree that this case is appropriate for negotiated discipline and that “the agreed-
upon sanction is ‘justified,’” In re Mensah, 262 A.3d 1100, 1104 (D.C. 2021) (per
curiam) (quoting D.C. Bar R. XI, § 12.1(c)(3)), given the sanctions we have
previously imposed for similar violations, see, e.g., In re Rosen, 481 A.2d 451, 455
(D.C. 1984) (imposing a 30-day suspension on an attorney who made three
misrepresentations to the court and previously had been reprimanded for
misrepresentation). We also agree with the Hearing Committee that, in these
circumstances, there is no need to decide whether our rules or California’s rules
apply to respondent’s misconduct. See D.C. R. Prof. Conduct 8.5(b)(2)(ii) (“If the
lawyer is licensed to practice in this and another jurisdiction, the rules to be applied
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shall be the rules of the admitting jurisdiction in which the lawyer principally
practices; provided, however, that if particular conduct clearly has its predominant
effect in another jurisdiction in which the lawyer is licensed to practice, the rules of
that jurisdiction shall be applied to that conduct.”); In re Tun, 286 A.3d 538, 543
(D.C. 2022) (explaining that even when we evaluate an attorney’s misconduct under
another jurisdiction’s rules, we follow District of Columbia law when determining
the appropriate sanction); In re Cooper, 936 A.2d 832, 835 (D.C. 2007) (“Courts
should not decide more than the occasion demands.” (quoting District of Columbia
v. Wical Ltd. P’ship, 630 A.2d 174, 182 (D.C. 1993))). Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that respondent Marylin Jenkins is hereby suspended from the
practice of law in the District of Columbia for 30 days. We direct respondent’s
attention to D.C. Bar R. XI, § 14(g), which requires the filing of an affidavit with
this court for purposes of reinstatement in accordance with D.C. Bar R. XI, § 16, and
Board Prof. Resp. R. 9.
So ordered.