The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to accept attorney Gary Victor Dubin’s appeal of his November 2020 disbarment by the Hawaii Supreme Court. Since that time, he has not been licensed to practice law in Hawaii state courts.

The Hawaii Supreme Court’s Order of Disbarment followed several years of litigation as Dubin repeatedly thwarted attempts by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel to have him suspended or disbarred. Dubin proved to a be a skilled legal street brawler, defending himself by aggressively attacking ODC, its staff, outside attorneys, and hearing officers. But although he won a series of legal skirmishes on technicalities, the court finally rejected his defenses as unsupported by the evidence, and approved the ODC-recommended sanction of disbarment, which Dubin calls “a professional death penalty.”

Dubin’s Petition for a writ of certiorari, filed February 25, 2021, was distributed to the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court in advance of its April 1 conference, and its order denying his petition was filed April 5. The court’s action closes the door to Dubin’s attempt to appeal his disbarment directly to the Supreme Court.

Both the U.S. District Court in Honolulu and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals had put automatic reciprocal discipline proceedings on hold pending the outcome of Dubin’s petition to the Supreme Court.

But on April 14, following the Supreme Court’s rejection, Federal District Judge Jill Otake issued an order lifting the stay on reciprocal proceedings and allowing its disciplinary proceedings to resume, over Dubin’s objections. Those procedings were launched by U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson’s September 15, 2020 “Order to Show Cause why Respondent Gary Victor Dubin (“Respondent”) should not be disbarred from practicing in this court pursuant to Local Rule 83.4(b) based on the Order of Disbarment issued by the Hawai‘i Supreme Court on September 9, 2020.”

It seems likely the 9th Circuit Court will also lift the stay on its own “Order to show cause,” and proceedings challenging Dubin’s license to practice in federal courts will resume in both settings.

In the meantime, Dubin repackaged his petition to the Supreme Court as a civil lawsuit, which was filed in Honolulu’s federal court on April 12.

The long, rambling, 181-page complaint names a number of defendants–the Hawaii Supreme Court and its individual justices, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and Disciplinary Board, the Lawyers’ Fund For Client Protection, and five individuals who were part of ODC’s lengthy disciplinary proceedings. The lawsuit is both a broad attack on the authority of the Hawaii Supreme Court’s rules and procedures for licensing and disciplining attorneys, and a rehashing of Dubin’s oft-repeated claims to be the victim of an extended conspiracy targeting him because his foreclosure defense practice was opposed by powerful financial interests. It accuses the Hawaii Supreme Court of exercising “unchecked power in an arbitrary and capricious manner contrary to federal constitutional safeguards.”

Dubin made the same or similar claims during several rounds of hearings before the state Disciplinary Board, and in the extended proceedings before the Hawaii Supreme Court. They proved to be unpersuasive, and in some cases counterproductive. Their chance of success in Dubin’s latest attempt to relitigate the issues appear slim, at least to this non-attorney observer.

The latest lawsuit was filed by Dubin and Honolulu attorney Keith Kiuchi. Kiuchi, who stepped in to take over Dubin’s active cases after he was disbarred, is listed as representing Dubin, while Dubin is representing some 200 former clients who he describes as having “volunteered” to be plaintiffs in the case.

See:

“Office Of Disciplinary Counsel’s Amended Answering Brief,” Hawaii Supreme Court, July 9, 2020.

Hawaii Supreme Court Order of Disbarment, September 9, 2020

“Attorney Gary Dubin disbarred by order of the Hawaii Supreme Court,” iLind.net, September 10, 2020

“Dubin responds to Supreme Court’s Disbarment Order,” iLind.net, September 11, 2020.

“Court affirms disbarment of attorney Gary Dubin,” iLind.net, September 30, 2020.

“Attorney Dubin appeals for an “emergency stay” on disbarment,” iLind.net, October 7, 2020.

“Dubin wins temporary delay in 9th Circuit reciprocal disclipline,” iLind.net, October 14, 2020.

“Dubin request for delay in disbarment denied by Justice Elena Kagan,” iLind.net, November 2, 2020.

Final order of disbarment, Hawaii Supreme Court, November 10, 2020.

“Dubin’s second appeal to U.S. Supreme Court denied,” iLind.net, December 11, 2020.