Molloy, a longtime Helena attorney, has withdrawn from the school funding lawsuit and all other cases where he is the counsel of record, said Brian Gallik, a Bozeman lawyer who has been working with Molloy on the school suit.
Molloy has paid the back taxes and penalties that he owed, from 1995-2005, and admitted he initially did not pay the taxes on time, Gallik said. But Molloy still faces possible disciplinary action before the Montana Supreme Court.
Molloy was charged in mid-September before the state Commission on Practice, a Supreme Court-appointed body that examines ethics complaints against lawyers.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel, an investigative arm of the commission, prepared the charges. They say Molloy's failure to pay taxes “within the time required by law” is professional misconduct because he committed “a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer.”
Molloy declined to comment, referring questions to Gallik.
School officials connected with the five-year-old funding lawsuit didn't know of the charges against Molloy until Thursday, when contacted by a reporter.
Tom Cotton, superintendent of Deer Lodge Elementary School and president of the Montana Quality Education Coalition, said Molloy “was a consummate professional for us, and all the work he did for us was exemplary.”
“This is a personal issue; we just happen to be one of his clients,” Cotton said.
MQEC organized the lawsuit and represents school districts that educate two-thirds of the public school students in the state. It has paid Molloy and Gallik several hundred thousand dollars for their work on the case.
Cotton and other MQEC officials said Molloy put in many hours of work on the case for which he never billed the organization.
The lawsuit led to a 2005 Montana Supreme Court ruling that state funding of public schools is inadequate and unconstitutional.
The schools went back to court earlier this year, arguing the state has failed to fully comply with the District Court's initial order to fund schools based on what it costs to provide a “basic, quality education.”
Molloy helped present the latest case during a weeklong trial in September - one week after he was charged with misconduct before the Commission of Practice.
A panel of the 14-member commission will hear the charges against Molloy and recommend disciplinary action. The Montana Supreme Court will make a final decision on the recommendations.
Molloy could face anything from a public censure to suspension of his law license.
Gallik said Molloy paid the back taxes and penalties last year, but Gallik didn't know the total amount. Molloy's formal reply to the charges in October indicated that he paid at least $220,000 for tax years 1995, 1996 and 1999 through 2005, and probably more.
Gallik said he didn't know why Molloy repeatedly failed to pay his state and federal income taxes on time.
The formal complaint against Molloy stems from an informal complaint filed with the Commission on Practice by an individual. However, the identity of that person is confidential, according to rules approved by the Supreme Court.
Gallik said the complaint “does not reflect on (Molloy's) character as a lawyer, his integrity as a lawyer, as an advocate for his clients, as a very competent attorney who did a very good job in the school funding case.
“He's a man of the highest integrity. He will get through this.”
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Chuck wrote on Nov 14, 2008 9:35 AM:
This is the stuff I'm warning about with Thomas!
JR "