The Recorder reported that solo practitioner Gregory Harper was disbarred by the California Supreme Court in January 2024, almost three years after the court initially ordered a review into potential racial bias in his disciplinary case.
Harper had been charged with mishandling client funds by State Bar Court Judge Manjari Chawla and disbarred in May 2019. He appealed citing a 2019 study that found Black male attorneys in California were more harshly disciplined. In January 2021, the Supreme Court sent the case back to be reopened with consideration of the racial bias question.
However, in August 2023, after a further hearing, Judge Chawla found insufficient evidence that any State Bar policies had a discriminatory effect on Harper due to his race. A statistics expert also concluded another attorney in Harper’s position would “highly likely” face the same discipline regardless of race.
The California Supreme Court denied Harper’s petition to reconsider, finalizing his disbarment. Their initial order had directed examination of data on racial disparities from the 2019 study and a 2020 follow-up report, but Harper’s claims of bias influencing his punishment were ultimately rejected.
Source: The Recorder
