Why in holy hell doesn't the ABA disbar Barr?

[Liberal In Texas]

Lawyers have got to do something to stem the illegality running rampant in DC.

[at140]

1. Barr disBarred? Sure rhymes well...

Bring it on!

[True Blue American]

7. Sign petition?

https://www.change.org/p/district-of-columbia-american-bar-association-disbar-attorney-general-william-p-barr-4abc4f8b-6ff6-46d3-97d4-d540507f65e5

[at140]

13. Sure, the least I can do! nt

[Aristus]

18. I signed.

[True Blue American]

19. Thanks to both of you.

[Ms. Toad]

24. Don't bother.

The petition is legal gibberish.

The ABA has absolutely nothing to do wtih Barr's license to practice law. Unless he is licensed to practice in all 50 states and US territories, it would not even be possible to "disbarment from practicing law in all jurisdictions of the United States of America."

If he were licensed to practice law in every jurisdiction in the US, the proper means to disbar him would be to file an ethics complaint in each jurisdiciton in which he is licensed.

[marybourg]

31. Listen to Ms. Toad, folks.

[SallyHemmings]

28. Done!

[Bev54]

36. I have sent to others

to distribute, I am Canadian so not sure if they will accept me.

[pdxflyboy]

2. I don't think the AG must be an attorney

In order to fill the AG position, but I may be wrong.

[NewJeffCT]

10. it's a very complicated question

but the long answer I read before is that the AG must be a licensed attorney.

I can't remember where I read it, but I think it was a legal analyst publishing something on it.

[at140]

15. May be not required by law but,

how can a non-lawyer deal with myriads of legal issues the DOJ is faced with?
So for practical purposes it behooves for the AG to be a lawyer.

[progressoid]

30. It's not like he's following the law so does it really matter?

[at140]

38. Well he/she is "supposed" to follow law as the chief

law enforcement officer.

[progressoid]

39. Yeah, those quaint notions are a thing of the past.

[Sanity Claws]

27. You must be a licensed attorney to provide legal opinions

Otherwise you are practicing law without a license and that is a crime in many jurisdictions.
I don't see how Barr could claim that he does not provide legal opinions when he is charge of the DOJ and oversees all litigation.

[world wide wally]

3. Best question yet!

[Dennis Donovan]

4. I think it's because all internal mechanisms in the legal trade count on honesty and honor

...and there's just not a lot of that to go around anymore.

[onenote]

5. Maybe because the ABA doesn't have that authority

It’s a @voluntary” professional association. It doesn’t license — or disbar — attorneys.

[Liberal In Texas]

9. I'm a bit out of my element on this, but wouldn't he be a member of a local bar?

And they do disbar for doing bad crap. I have a friend who is a lawyer and he is deathly afraid of anybody (even a nut) who threatens him with reporting him to the local bar.

[NewJeffCT]

12. Yes - Ted Lieu referred Barr to the DC and Virginia bars

for review last year.

[TruckFump]

17. Exactly.

The bar where he is licensed has the authority.

[Frustratedlady]

6. They threatened to a few weeks ago, but nothing happened.

I can't believe Barr and Trump could shut it down.

What's happening with the SDNY? We keep getting teased, but nothing happens. I realize legal matters take a long time and that he supposedly can't be indicted while in office, but they had a whole bunch of things going on. Keep jabbing him and keep him off balance.

[Ms. Toad]

25. Disbarment takes longer than "a few weeks."

And prior to a final determination, proceedings are confidential. So if things are happening, you wouldn't know it until the process is complete.

[gratuitous]

8. Because the ABA doesn't license attorneys; it's a lobby for lawyers

Lawyers are licensed by state bar associations.

[RT Atlanta]

11. Correct!

A complaint will have to be made to the state bar association(s) in which AG is licensed to initiate the process.

[marybourg]

33. Or other state licensing authorities.

In N.Y. it’s the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court and the state Bar Association is merely a membership organization.

[empedocles]

14. Politico - former barr boss [under Bush] Ayer on barr . . .

' . . . on a number of different occasions . . . you can almost be 100 per cent certain that there's something improper going on.'



[More and more folk speaking up to the barr/trump crap show. Necessary].

[Tommy_Carcetti]

16. ABA doesn't have that authority. It's a voluntary group.

I'm assuming DC is the jurisdiction who holds authority over Barr's license.

[True Blue American]

20. Barr is getting worried,

He is testifying to the Hoise. He can go to jail. John Mitchell did.

[Leghorn21]

21. FWIW, NYC Bar Association calls for investigations:

The NYC Bar Association: "We write to express our deep concerns about the impartial administration of justice in connection with the prosecution of Roger Stone in federal court in Washington, D.C., and to call for immediate investigations."

Link to tweet

[AJT]

22. I've wondered the same thing. If he is disbarred he no longer qualifies to be the AG.

[AncientGeezer]

41. Untrue...there is no Constitutional requirement that an AG be a lawyer...

[Liberal In Texas]

23. OK, got it. Not the ABA.

So why in holy hell doesn't his local bar association do something? Lawyers have to know if they don't discipline themselves it's going to come back and bite them in the butt at some time.

[Ms. Toad]

26. Because it has no authority to do so. n/t

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. The ABA doesn't handle lawyer discipline.

It’s a professional association lawyers don’t even have to belong to. Individual states where lawyers are licensed decide whether they should be disbarred. In the case of Barr that would be DC.

[True Blue American]

32. Disbarment

https://www.britannica.com/topic/disbarment

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. I know. I practiced law for years

and when clerking for a judge I worked on a number of lawyer discipline cases. I know exactly how it works. The ABA doesn’t do it and Britannica doesn’t explain how it’s done here.

[True Blue American]

37. My post was for those

Who want to know.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

40. Each state has its own rules and procedures, so that's where the info would be.

The process for disciplining Barr would probably involve a filing a complaint with the attorney licensing agency in the appropriate jurisdiction (D.C., maybe Virginia) specifying the particular rules of professional conduct he's alleged to have violated. For example, from the DC rules:

It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:

(a) Violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another;
(b) Commit a criminal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects;
(c) Engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation;
(d) Engage in conduct that seriously interferes with the administration of justice;
(e) State or imply an ability to influence improperly a government agency or official;
(f) Knowingly assist a judge or judicial officer in conduct that is a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct or other law; or
(g) Seek or threaten to seek criminal charges or disciplinary charges solely to obtain an advantage in a civil matter.

https://www.dcbar.org/bar-resources/legal-ethics/amended-rules/rule8-04.cfm

Usually those complaints come from judges or other lawyers. In D.C., lawyers are required to report violations of the rules of professional conduct.

Rules of Professional Conduct: Rule 8.3--Reporting Professional Misconduct
(a) A lawyer who knows that another lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct that raises a substantial question as to that lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects, shall inform the appropriate professional authority.

https://www.dcbar.org/bar-resources/legal-ethics/amended-rules/rule8-03.cfm

Bueller? Bueller? Anybody?

[True Blue American]

42. Thanks

[wryter2000]

34. The ABA doesn't disbar people

The state bar in whichever state he has a license does.