State ex. rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Foster

State ex. rel. Oklahoma Bar Ass'n v. Foster
2000 OK 4
995 P.2d 1138
71 OBJ 128
Case Number: SCBD-4401
Decided: 01/18/2000
Modified: 01/19/2000
Supreme Court of Oklahoma

STATE OF OKLAHOMA, ex rel. OKLAHOMA BAR ASSOCIATION, Complainant,
v.
ROBERT L. FOSTER, Respondent

[995 P.2d 1139]
ORDER

¶1 On November 23, 1998, the complainant, Oklahoma Bar Association (Bar Association), charged the respondent, Robert L. Foster (attorney), with a single count of professional misconduct. The Bar Association alleged violation of Rule 1.3, Rules Governing Disciplinary Proceedings,

¶2 On August 31, 1999, a hearing was held before the Professional Responsibility Tribunal (trial panel) at which the Bar Association and the attorney presented agreed findings of fact and conclusions of law with a recommendation that the attorney be privately reprimanded and that costs be imposed. The agreed facts and the testimony before the trial panel reveal that the incident giving rise to the criminal charges involved the attorney viewing A.M.'s breasts and subsequently making an inappropriate comment in which the attorney indicated to A.M. that she had nice breasts and that they should be photographed.

¶3 Having reviewed the complaint, the response, the stipulations of law and of fact, the transcript of the proceeding, along with the trial panel's recommendation and the joint brief of the parties on appeal, we determine that:

¶4 IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED THAT the respondent, Robert L. Foster, is reprimanded and admonished that his behavior constituted unprofessional conduct which will not be condoned by this Court. Costs of investigating and prosecuting the complaint in the amount of $194.42 are imposed.

DONE BY ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT IN CONFERENCE THIS 13th DAY OF JANUARY, 2000.

SUMMERS, C.J., LAVENDER, KAUGER, WATT, BOUDREAU, JJ. concur.

HARGRAVE, V.C.J., WITH WHOM HODGES, J. JOINS, DISSENTING:

OPALA, J., DISSENTING:

FOOTNOTES

1In response to a question concerning what led up to the conduct at issue, the attorney explained that there had been a long running family friendship between A.M.'s parents, A.M. and the attorney. On the day of the incident, the attorney had taken A.M. and her sister for an outing. At some point in the evening, the attorney purchased, at A.M.'s request, a sports bra for the minor. The attorney was asked to explain his actions. The hearing transcript of August 31, 1999, provides in pertinent part at pp. 16-17:

". . . She [A.M.] got in the front seat with her sister and she decided she was going to put that sports bra on and in the meantime, I was trying to back out of the parking place she said stop, wait just a minute, I want to get on the back seat to try this on. . . . But she got in the back seat and I proceeded to back out and I don't know how - how they manage it, but some women can put on those articles of clothing without taking their - their blouse off. Well, she was trying to do that and while I was looking backwards, she was adjusting herself and then her breasts were exposed. She noticed that I had seen them. I said no word at all about that at that time. She was somewhat embarrassed about it and I felt it better not to say anything at that time . . . We saw the movie Selena and then we went on to my house. This is about 11 o'clock when we got there and the girls decided that - after they had their ice cream and what have you, they decided they would go to bed because it was right after 11:00.