Anchorage Daily News

The Alaska Supreme Court this week gave U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens some breathing room as he attempts to defend his law license from suspension, giving him until Nov. 24 to prepare a defense to a bar disciplinary proceeding.

On Oct. 30, three days after a District of Columbia jury found him guilty of seven felonies for lying on his annual Senate disclosure statements, the Alaska Bar Association asked the state Supreme Court for an immediate, interim suspension of Stevens' license to practice law.

The disciplinary action, conducted by the Supreme Court under state bar rules, is another sign of the stunning collapse of Stevens' 40-year Senate career. Among the compounding problems for the 84-year-old senator:

• As absentee and questioned ballots continue to be counted from the Nov. 4 election, Stevens' 3,000-vote election night lead over challenger Mark Begich has disappeared and Begich has moved ahead by more than 1,000 votes.

• A Republican senator, Jim DeMint of South Carolina, said he will seek Stevens' ouster from the Republican caucus next week, regardless of the outcome of the election. That would cost Stevens all his committee assignments and seniority in the upcoming lame-duck session on the nation's economic crisis and leave Alaskans with a severely handicapped representative.

• Senators from both parties say they will try to unseat Stevens next year if he wins the race against Begich. Stevens will also face an ethics committee investigation.

• If he doesn't seek and win a pardon from outgoing President Bush, and loses his bid for a new trial in February, he faces a possible prison sentence and fine from the judge who heard his case.

• The son who once seemed destined to succeed him, former Alaska Senate President Ben Stevens, continues to face an FBI corruption investigation.

Under state bar rules, an interim suspension is required when a licensed lawyer is found guilty of a felony. Bar Counsel Stephen Van Goor filed a copy of the jury verdict in Stevens' case with the Supreme Court on Oct. 30. Van Goor asked for "an immediate order of interim suspension" of Stevens' license.

The interim order would be in force until formal disciplinary proceedings.

Stevens is seeking a new trial and vowed to appeal if he's unsuccessful. He has charged prosecutors with misconduct. Under the bar rules, if Stevens wins an appeal, he can petition for reinstatement of his law license.

In the petition seeking delay of the interim suspension, Stevens' lawyer, Tim McKeever, noted that Stevens has been an Alaska lawyer since statehood. McKeever said Stevens is currently on inactive status and has no intention of practicing law.

Among the challenges to the bar petition, McKeever said Stevens plans to fight the assertion that his conviction is for a crime that merits suspension.

But Bar Rule 26 specifically says a suspension is required when a lawyer is found guilty of a felony involving "false swearing, misrepresentation, fraud, (and) deceit."

The Washington, D.C., jury found Stevens guilty of scheming to violate disclosure rules from 2000 to 2006 and of falsely swearing to the accuracy of his statements from 2001 to 2006.

The government charged that Stevens concealed more than $250,000 in gifts over that period, mainly from the former oil-field services company Veco Corp. and its chief executive, Bill Allen.

McKeever also said that Stevens' license shouldn't be suspended because he's not actively using it anyway, and his appeals are pending.

But the bar rules don't distinguish between active and inactive licenses and call for an interim suspension upon a jury verdict, not upon resolution of all appeals.

The bar association didn't oppose Stevens' request for additional time to answer the discipline complaint. The Supreme Court said the bar association will have 10 days to respond to Stevens' answer, delaying a decision until at least December if both sides take the allotted time.

Find Richard Mauer online at adn.com/contact/rmauer or call 257-4345.

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