When Dinosaurs Attack
Just when you think public officials couldn’t get any sillier, this report comes out of Franklin County, Washington: “Superior court judges in Washington state who disagreed with their clerk about …
The Inexplicable Secrecy of Louisiana Judiciary Commission Proceedings
On August 11, 2019, the New Orleans Advocate ran an excellent expose on the secrecy of proceedings before the Louisiana Judiciary Commission. See Andrea Gallo and John Simerman, Jeff Hughes …
Should Louisiana Force its Lawyers to Pay for Speech That They Don’t Support?
By Jacob Huebert, James Baehr, and Dane S. Ciolino The First Amendment guarantees every American’s freedom of speech and freedom of association. That means we all get to choose what …
Louisiana District Attorneys Call for Amendment to Brady Obligation in Rule 3.8(d)
On July 22, 2019, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association sent a formal request to the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court requesting that the court amend Louisiana Rule of …
Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct Permits Questionable Solicitation by Judges
The Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct generally prohibits a judge from soliciting funds on behalf of an educational, religious, charitable, or civic organization. See Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct Canon …
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on Obligations of Prosecutors in Misdemeanor Cases
In May 2019, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued a formal opinion on the “Obligations of Proscutors in Negotiating Plea Bargains for Misdemeanor Offenses.” See ABA …
Discipline for Disembarking Uninvited Racoon from Boat?
Should a lawyer be subject to discipline for tossing a racoon off of his fishing boat? Florida disciplinary authorities have opened an investigation into a lawyer who shooed a racoon …
New York Bar Revises Social Media Guidelines
The New York State Bar Association has been at the forefront of providing useful ethics advice to the bar regarding lawyer social media use. 1 On May 31, 2019, the …
Maine Becomes Third State to Adopt ABA Anti-Discrimination Rule
Effective June 1, 2019, Maine became the third state to adopt a disciplinary standard identical to or analogous to the anti-discrimination provision of ABA Model Rule 8.4. See 2019 Me. …
ABA Issues Formal Opinion on “Fee Division with Client’s Prior Counsel”
On June 18, 2019, the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 487 to address the division of a fee when one lawyer replaces another in …