## Facts

- Joseph Dee Morrissey, the Commonwealth’s Attorney for the City of Richmond, prosecuted Robert William Molyneux III for abduction and rape.
- The case presented substantial credibility and evidentiary problems, including changing accounts by the complainant and testing results that undermined parts of the complainant’s narrative.
- Morrissey negotiated a plea resolution with defense counsel under which felony charges would be reduced to a misdemeanor and the defendant would receive a suspended sentence upon payment of costs.
- As part of the negotiated disposition, the defendant agreed to pay $50,000: $25,000 to the complainant and $25,000 to charities selected by Morrissey.
- When presenting the plea agreement to the court, Morrissey did not disclose the payment arrangement, including the charitable contributions tied to his charging and sentencing recommendations.
- The Virginia State Bar filed disciplinary charges alleging violations of (i) DR 1-102(A)(4) (dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation reflecting adversely on fitness to practice) and (ii) DR 8-101(A)(3) (public official accepting something of value when the offer is for influencing official action).
- The trial court found violations of both rules and suspended Morrissey’s law license for six months; Morrissey appealed and the State Bar assigned cross-error to certain dismissals.

## Issues

1. Whether a prosecutor commits dishonesty or misrepresentation under DR 1-102(A)(4) by failing to disclose to the court a plea term requiring substantial payments to the complainant and to charities selected by the prosecutor.
2. Whether negotiating and accepting defendant-funded charitable contributions to prosecutor-selected charities constitutes acceptance of “anything of value” to influence official action under DR 8-101(A)(3).
3. Whether the six-month suspension was an appropriate sanction in light of the misconduct and the trial court’s rulings on other charges.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court of Virginia affirmed the trial court’s findings that Morrissey violated DR 1-102(A)(4) by withholding material plea terms from the court.
- The Court affirmed that Morrissey violated DR 8-101(A)(3) by accepting “something of value” through arranging charitable donations he selected as part of the plea bargain tied to his official prosecutorial action.
- The Court upheld the six-month suspension of Morrissey’s license to practice law.
- The Court rejected Morrissey’s appellate arguments and did not grant broader relief on the State Bar’s cross-errors beyond the affirmed disposition.

## Legal Principles

- Prosecutors have heightened duties of honesty and candor in presenting plea agreements; omitting material plea conditions from disclosure to the court constitutes dishonest conduct under DR 1-102(A)(4).
- Plea terms involving payments conditioned on prosecutorial charging or sentencing positions are material and must be disclosed so the court can exercise informed supervisory and sentencing authority.
- Under DR 8-101(A)(3), “anything of value” is not limited to direct personal enrichment; it can include indirect or intangible benefits to a public official, including the ability to direct substantial funds to chosen recipients with attendant reputational or political advantage.
- A public-official lawyer violates DR 8-101(A)(3) when the payment or benefit is linked to, and offered for the purpose of influencing, the lawyer’s official action in the disposition of criminal charges.
- Suspension is an appropriate sanction where a prosecutor’s nondisclosure and acceptance of an influence-linked benefit threatens public confidence in the integrity of plea bargaining and the justice system.

## Conclusion

The court upheld discipline against a prosecutor who negotiated undisclosed plea-bargain payments, including defendant-funded donations to prosecutor-selected charities, holding that nondisclosure to the tribunal constituted dishonesty and that the charitable arrangement amounted to accepting a thing of value intended to influence official prosecutorial action, warranting a six-month suspension.


Morrissey v. Va. State Bar, 248 Va. 334, 448 S.E.2d 615 (1994)