On October 23, 2025, the California Supreme Court rejected a State Bar proposal that would have granted lawyers a one-time, automatic expungement of their public disciplinary records after eight years with no further violations. See California Supreme Court Rules on State Bar Proposals, Appoints New State Bar Court Judge, Judicial Branch of California Newsroom (Oct. 23, 2025).
The proposal aimed to give disciplined lawyers a clean slate by removing public access to old discipline cases, but the court declined to adopt it. The justices left intact California’s existing system, where disciplinary histories remain part of the public record.
Louisiana takes the same approach.
The Louisiana Supreme Court likewise does not allow expungement of attorney disciplinary records. Once discipline is imposed, it remains permanently part of the lawyer’s public record through the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board databases. Both states maintain permanent public access to disciplinary history as a matter of transparency and client protection.
