Special Report: Finneran Disbarment

Once he was arguably the state's most powerful politician. An authoritarian speaker of the house. But a lie, under oath, in a federal courtroom changed everything.

Thomas Finneran plead guilty to obstruction of justice two years ago. He was sentenced to 18 months unsupervised probation, and a $25,000 fine. And now he may permanently lose his right to practice law.

Jim Bolan, Legal Ethics Expert
"On a felony conviction the court presumes that one is either going to be disbarred or indefinitely suspended."

Finneran's conviction stems from a controversial legislative redistricting plan in 2001, that some say was racially motivated. A minority group sued, arguing the intent of the plan was to "whiten" certain voting districts, to protect incumbents.

Finneran, now a WRKO talk show host, denied he knew about the plan before it was released, but he later admitted that was a lie.

A state panel, which judges lawyer misconduct, issued this report last year recommending Finneran lose his law license for two years. But that's just the first step in the process. A much bigger decision is coming soon.

It'll happen behind closed doors, right here in this room, early next week. The 12 members of the BBO, the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers, will decide Tom Finneran's professional fate.

The BBO could take the state panel's recommendation and give Finneran a two year suspension, retroactive to January 2007. But he would still have to apply for reinstatement now. Finneran wants just a one year suspension on his record. He wouldn't have to re-apply.

Another important player in this complicated process is the Office of the Bar Counsel, which investigates and prosecutes Bay State lawyers. They say Finneran should be disbarred.

And Finneran's critics point out that he lied under oath more than once.

Pamela Wilmot, Common Cause Massachusetts
"This was a serious matter. It wasn't just one day. It was the court of law, but not just in the court of law. It was also in the deposition. So we have a pattern here."

Finneran is fighting hard these days for his reputation in these documents obtained by 7News. He claims the Bar Counsel has engaged in "character assassination" and argues the BBO should consider he's an 'emotional guy' who lied because he was "furious and insulted" by the implication of racism. And the speaker says hip pain impacted his testimony.

Jim Bolan, Legal Ethics Expert
"If you're distracted so that you're disabled and it affects your ability to think."

Jonathan Hall, 7News
"It makes you lie?"

Jim Bolan, Legal Ethics Expert
"It makes you not be able to think too clearly."

And Finneran also wants the board to consider the fact his lie did not come as he practiced law.

Jim Bolan, Legal Ethics Expert
"Even though he was the speaker at the time, he was not acting as a lawyer. Remember, this is a lawyer discipline case."

The BBO will announce its decision in the coming weeks and then the case will automatically be referred to the state's Supreme Court. By the way, I contacted Tom Finneran repeatedly by phone and email, but the talk show host wasn't talking.

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