Libby Verdict: Disciplinary Consequences

I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is a member of the District of Columbia Bar. He will be suspended immediately when the D. C. Court of Appeals receives a certified copy of the docket entry reflecting the jury's guilty verdict. The court will then order the Board on Professional Responsibility to determine whether any crime for which Libby was convicted involves moral turpitude per se. Perjury and obstruction of justice are crimes that the court has previously held involve moral turpitude per se. Thus, the board is required to recommend disbarment. The court will not take final action until the appeals process is finished.

If Libby is pardoned, the court may impose sanction based on the underlying facts of the case but not on the conviction. The court so ruled in the case involving Elliott Abrams. (Mike Frisch)