Legal Ethics
Lawyer Surrenders License After Bar Says He Left Innocent Client in Jail
Posted Apr 24, 2008, 05:53 am CDT
By Molly McDonough
A California lawyer has surrendered his law license after state bar officials accused him of stealing client funds, and in a more serious breach, of allowing a defendant to sit in jail for months even though the lawyer had evidence that would clear him.
William S. Gebbie, a well-known San Bernardino County criminal defense lawyer, has practiced for nearly 40 years in Southern California, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin reports.
According to a State Bar of California complaints (PDF) stamped Aug. 7 and Dec. 10, Gebbie's ethical breaches extend through his criminal and family law work. Most of the allegations involve taking fees, then not performing the work.
The Daily Bulletin notes that in the most egregious example, an investigator had provided Gebbie with evidence that a jailed client was innocent. But Gebbie failed to act on it and the man remained in jail for months.
Local lawyers interviewed for the story described Gebbie as a good lawyer, but increasingly harried and "overextended."
Related Stories
- New Law Dean at UC Davis is First Latino in the Position
2 hours, 45 minutes ago - PI-to-Stars Anthony Pellicano Guilty in Dirty-Tricks Litigation Case
6 hours, 17 minutes ago - Another Katrina Law Firm Axed Due to Scruggs Fallout
6 hours, 54 minutes ago - 7th Circuit Upholds $30K Jones Day Sanction, Applies Rule 11
8 hours, 13 minutes ago
Related Topics
Commenting has expired on this post.
Comments
Posted by da man - 3 weeks, 5 hours, 37 minutes ago
Good lawyer...but overextended?
They need to throw the book at him. I wonder how many other clients have gotten the shaft over his illustrious 40 yr career.
Posted by serena - 3 weeks, 35 minutes ago
ha! good lawyer i also was a client of this “lawyer” he pilled the same stunt on me left and ignored my brothers case . my brother was convinced to take a plea bargain because though he could win the case if taken to trial it would take so long and there could still be a chance of bieng found guilty which would send him away for a long time . the victim in the case was willing to testify on my brothers behalf that he was not the right guy. Gebbie ignored this i gave up 3000 to him just to listen to his answering machine and wait for him to never show up to my brothers court dates. with the charges comming up know what should i and can i do to help my brother?
Posted by Jon - 2 weeks, 6 days, 14 hours, 30 minutes ago
40 years, so he is in at least his mid-60’s. not necessarily old, but at the age where physical infirmaties often set in. Perhaps he has something physically wrong that is causing forgetfulness, or something? I don’t think I can accuse without knowing more.
Posted by Wig - 2 weeks, 6 days, 13 hours, 48 minutes ago
No, I don’t believe Gebbie’s problem has to do with physical infirmaties or forgetfulness - because raking in the cash, piling up cases, and asking for continuances had been going on over 10 years ago, when I was acquainted with him. He is a suave, fast-talking lawyer. Part of the story I read discussed how he would talk about his marriage, pets, etc. to his clients, rather than taking care of business at hand… not a surprise to me whatsoever. This has been going on for years.
Posted by Eva Segert-Tauger - 2 weeks, 6 days, 13 hours, 40 minutes ago
Serena,
find another lawyer ASAP. See if CA bar has a fund to reimburse clients who paid fees when the work was not done.
Posted by LadyH - 2 weeks, 6 days, 13 hours, 14 minutes ago
Serena, I would seriously consider suing this guy for malpractice. You can sue a lawyer the same way you can sue a doctor. If the victim said your brother was the wrong guy, then he should have asked for the charges to be dropped. Kind of surprised they weren’t anyway.
Posted by DGL - 2 weeks, 6 days, 12 hours, 41 minutes ago
"Gebbie” should go to jail for the aggregate amount of time he let innocent clients sit in jail. Disbarrment is not enough. Nor is suing him for damages.
Posted by RA - 2 weeks, 6 days, 9 hours, 46 minutes ago
Once again “Mike Hunt” (yuk yuk - how childish) chimes in with an anti-woman lawyer remark, blaming the lack of adequate criminal representation on women: “Problem is that women don’t want to get involved in the criminal cases much...” I would again ask the ABA Journal to revoke this person’s right to publish under this name unless it really is Mike Hunt - which I seriously doubt.
Posted by Criminal Defense Law Center - 2 weeks, 6 days, 5 hours, 58 minutes ago
When did our legal system degrade to not regard innocence as sacrsanct. Mr. Gebbie should pay dearly, but he’s not alone in this tragedy. Did prosecutors know and/or did the investigator tell them. If not, why not. In this profession, it generally takes more than one to put an innocent person in jail. I was raised that it is better to let 10 guilty people go than put one innocent in prison. Clearly, Mr. Gebbie failed, most likely by design. But the system also failed and we need to be sure that it too wasn’t by design. Just because a prosecutor is opposite the Grebbies of the Bar doesn’t mean they have the moral right to take advantage. Too many innocents are in prison. If we stop the practice of putting anyone away who we “think” is guilty, our prisons could then populated only with those that deserve to be there. Our budgets will once again be in the black and the government’s moral authority will have a chance to regenerate. Blame and punish Gebbie, but make sure the numerous other Gebbie’s are also put out of business. This should be a major effort by the ABA and it’s state counterparts. Gebbie alone doesn’t give the Bar a bad name; our failure to correct the problem does.
Posted by D Byrd - 2 weeks, 5 days, 14 hours, 13 minutes ago
This guy is a lousy lawyer, hands down. Why can’t they just put him in jail with some of his clients?
Posted by Old Shark - 2 weeks, 5 days, 11 hours, 27 minutes ago
Do any of you guys do criminal work? Many criminal court judges have never seen an innocent man: only a man not guilty of the offense charged.
What was this proof? Likely not incontrovertible. It seems that appellate courts and disciplinary counsel only recognize an individual as innocent when he can hire enough counsel and investigators to make OJ blush or they can rake an attorney over the coals.
I suspect this man’s best out would have been to ask for a reduction of bail and present this “proof” at that time. Note that this would not have ended the prosecution. Many prosecutors offices are filled with take no responsibility attorneys who only look forward to the dim prospect of a salary check.
There is one case I was affiliated with – not where I was counsel mind you – where the victim told the prosecutor after court that the Defendant was the wrong man. Thankfully, the prosecutor communicated this to the defense attorney. This was not the end. The prosecutor’s office refused to drop charges, because no one would take any responsibility.
At my suggestion, bail was dropped to $1 but the case is not yet resolved. Be not so hard on your brother.
Posted by Jim - 2 weeks, 4 days, 23 hours, 6 minutes ago
Old Shark (comment #11), unfortunately, you are right. I practiced criminal law for 7 years and practically lived in the courtroom. I have seen what you state above in action. However, I read Gebbie’s complaint (pdf file linked in the article) and it does appear that there were serious ethical breaches on his part. If what was alleged against him were true in my state, disbarrment would be a virtual certainty.