SC94561 The Florida Bar v. Robert Peter McKeever, Jr.

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State: Florida

Court: Supreme Court

Docket No: sc94561

Case Date: 03/30/2000

Plaintiff: SC94561 The Florida Bar

Defendant: Robert Peter McKeever, Jr.

Preview:Supreme Court of Florida
No. SC94561
THE FLORIDA BAR,
Complainant,
vs.
ROBERT PETER MCKEEVER, JR.,
Respondent.
[March 30, 2000]
PER CURIAM.
The  Florida  Bar  petitions  this  Court  to  review  the  referee’s  report
recommending  that  Robert  Peter  McKeever,  Jr.,  be  suspended  indefinitely  for
violating Rules Regulating the Florida Bar.    We have jurisdiction.   See art. V, § 15,
Fla. Const.
FACTS
McKeever was criminally charged with five counts of aggravated child abuse
involving three boys, each of which he was accused of “binding and blindfolding

. . . and beating . . . about [the] naked body with a strap.”   McKeever pled guilty to
these felony charges and was adjudicated guilty and sentenced to five concurrent six-
year terms in prison followed by eight years’ probation.
Based on these felony convictions, the Bar filed in this Court a Notice of
Determination of Guilt pursuant to Rule Regulating the Florida Bar 3-7.2 seeking
McKeever’s  automatic  suspension.    On  July                                             14,   1998,  this  Court  suspended
McKeever.   See Florida Bar v. McKeever, 718 So. 2d 172 (Fla. 1998).
The  Bar  then  filed  in  this  Court  a  complaint  against  McKeever  seeking
additional discipline based on his felony convictions.  In his response to a Bar request
for admissions, McKeever admitted to his guilty pleas, his sentences, and the fact that
he was a member of the Bar at the time of his offenses.   The Bar filed a motion for
summary judgment on these admitted facts, and the appointed referee granted the
motion.   The referee then held a hearing on the discipline to be imposed.
The referee’s report reflected that summary judgment had been entered based
on the factual admissions discussed above.  The referee recommended that McKeever
be found guilty of violating Rules Regulating the Florida Bar 3-4.3 (“The commission
by a lawyer of any act that is unlawful or contrary to honesty and justice, whether the
act is committed in the course of the attorney’s relations as an attorney or otherwise
. . . may constitute a cause for discipline”) and 4-8.4(b) (prohibiting attorneys from
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committing criminal acts which reflect adversely on honesty, trustworthiness, or
fitness as a lawyer in other respects).
In determining the discipline to be imposed, the referee found that the following
mitigating factors were present: (1) absence of a prior disciplinary record; (2) absence
of a dishonest or selfish motive (finding that McKeever struck the children solely as
a  disciplinary  measure);                                                                 (3)  personal  or  emotional  problems      (including  marital
problems  and  alcohol  abuse);                                                            (4)  good  character  and  reputation                             (McKeever’s
extensive military record, which includes multiple rescue missions and numerous
awards,  as  well  as  community  activities);                                             (5)  mental  or  physical  disability  or
impairment (back pain and alcoholism); (6) interim rehabilitation; (7) imposition of
other penalties or sanctions (his incarceration and probation); and (8) remorse.   The
referee   also   found   the   following   aggravating   factors:                          (1)   pattern   of
misconduct/multiple offenses (the abuse took place over a period of five months, but
the referee noted that there was no evidence of similar offenses in the five years prior
to the abuse in the instant case), and (2) substantial experience in the practice of law
(however, the referee noted that McKeever’s actions occurred outside the practice of
law and did not violate a duty to a client).
Weighing these factors, the referee concluded that McKeever had overcome the
presumption of disbarment for his felony convictions.  The referee recommended that
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McKeever be suspended for an indefinite period (i.e., until the costs of the instant
proceedings are paid, McKeever’s civil rights are restored, and he demonstrates proof
of rehabilitation).
The Florida Bar has petitioned for review, urging that the recommended
discipline is too lenient and that disbarment is in order under the facts of this case.1
ANALYSIS
The Bar urges that even assuming the mitigating factors found by the referee are
all supported by competent, substantial evidence,2 disbarment would still be the only
suitable discipline for McKeever’s offenses.    We agree.
In reviewing a referee’s recommendation of discipline, this Court’s scope of
review is “broader than that afforded to findings of fact because, ultimately, it is [the
Court’s] responsibility to order an appropriate punishment.”  Florida Bar v. Anderson,
538 So. 2d 852, 854 (Fla. 1989).   Under Florida Standard for Imposing Lawyer
1  The Bar does not challenge the referee’s recommendations of guilt.  We have reviewed the
record and approve the referee’s report in this regard.
2   The Bar by no means concedes that all of the mitigating factors found by the referee are
supported by competent, substantial evidence.  For example, as to the referee’s finding that McKeever
suffered from mental or physical impairments (i.e., back pain and alcoholism), the Bar urges that this
finding is not supported because McKeever provided no evidence at the hearing regarding the extent
of his back pain or alcoholism, or the role that these alleged impairments played in the beatings.  As
to the referee’s finding that McKeever was remorseful, the Bar urges that McKeever’s continued
efforts to justify the beatings demonstrate that his assertions of remorse are not sincere.  We need not
address the merits of the Bar’s challenges, however, because even if all of the mitigating factors found
by the referee were supported by competent, substantial evidence, we would still conclude that
disbarment is the appropriate discipline in the instant case.
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Sanctions 5.11, disbarment is appropriate when an attorney is “convicted of a felony
under applicable law.”  The burden is on the attorney to overcome the presumption of
disbarment.    See, e.g., Florida Bar v. Grief,  701 So.  2d  555,  557  (Fla.  1997).
McKeever has failed to do so in this case.
McKeever’s crimes are shocking.   He stripped, bound, blindfolded, and beat
three minors with a strap on multiple occasions over a period of four-and-a-half
months and a videotape was made of the beatings.    Both The Florida Bar and
McKeever acknowledge that there is no case law in the context of a Bar disciplinary
action dealing with the type of felony committed by McKeever (i.e., physical child
abuse).  Regardless, it is clear that such conduct is completely contrary to the oath that
every attorney takes to abstain from offensive personality.   As such, even if we had
accepted all of the referee’s findings of mitigation, we would still conclude that
disbarment is the only discipline which is remotely commensurate with McKeever’s
offenses.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly, Robert Peter McKeever, Jr., is hereby disbarred from the practice
of law, for a period of five years.  In this Court’s July 14 order suspending McKeever,
this Court afforded McKeever thirty days to close out his practice and protect the
interests of existing clients, and further ordered that McKeever shall accept no new
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business from the date the order was issued.      Accordingly, McKeever’s disbarment
in the instant case shall take effect immediately.  Judgment is entered for The Florida
Bar, 650 Apalachee Parkway, Tallahassee, Florida 32399, for recovery of costs from
Robert Peter McKeever, Jr., in the amount of $1,388.15, for which sum let execution
issue.
It is so ordered.
HARDING,  C.J.,  and  SHAW,  WELLS,  ANSTEAD,  PARIENTE,  LEWIS  and
QUINCE, JJ., concur.
THE FILING OF A MOTION FOR REHEARING SHALL NOT ALTER THE
EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS DISBARMENT.
Original Proceeding - The Florida Bar
John F. Harkness, Jr., Executive Director, John Anthony Boggs, Staff Counsel, and
James N. Watson, Jr., Bar Counsel, Tallahassee, Florida,
for Complainant
Robert Peter McKeever, Jr., pro se, Crestview, Florida,
for Respondent
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