NCJ Number
81543
Date Published
Unknown
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This videotaped segment of the conference contains a series of reports from committees concerned with professional conduct and ethics of judges and lawyers.
Abstract
The first to report is the American Bar Association's Client Security Fund, wich proposes that minimum standards for the maintenance of client trust funds be established to meet reasonable accounting requirements. Among possible enforcement measures are spot audits of compliance by attorneys who may tend to mismanage client funds. The Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics observes that complaints received indicate public confusion between the committee's function and that of appellate courts, where legal trial errors are clarified. Most of the applicable complaints concerning judicial conduct refer to municipal court judges who are political appointees. The Disciplinary Review Board's report concerns its initial 2 months of operation, and focuses on its heavy caseload. The large volume of complaints against lawyers is the principal problem also faced by Central Ethics, which provides staff and services to the various ethical committees. The concluding report from the Committee on Professional Ethics explains that its responsibility is to formulate opinions in cases of professional misconduct, that current social change is causing an erosion of ethical rules, and thus new situations for clarification are continually presenting themselves. Conflict of interest has been the most frequent issue. For other sessions of this conference, see NCJ 81541-42 and 81544-45.