State's highest court strips Tom Finneran of his law license; says lawyers can't be allowed to lie under oath

The Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that former house Speaker Thomas Finneran be disbarred, saying lying under oath was a serious enough offense to keep him away from the bar.

Finneran had argued his offense was not really all that bad because he didn't commit it as part of his law practice. The court disagreed:

The respondent's misconduct implicates both the integrity of the judicial system and the honesty of a member of the bar. We have no reason to disagree with the finding that the respondent's conduct during the voting rights lawsuit represented an aberrant event in his long career of serving his constituency and the public with loyalty and distinction. But the respondent was convicted of a serious crime involving false testimony to a court under oath in a significant case about fundamental rights. ... [T]he public perception of the bar would be gravely damaged if this court were to impose a sanction less than the generally applicable one of disbarment.

In 2007, federal prosecutors dropped perjury charges against Finneran in exchange for his pleading guilty to a single charge of obstruction of justice. In the plea agreement, however, he agreed he "knowingly and willfully made misleading and false statements" during a court hearing on a lawsuit over the way the state re-drew legislative district lines.

Complete ruling.
Finneran's plea agreement.