法律英语：102 Disbarment

by Michael W. Flynn

First, a disclaimer: Although I am an attorney, the legal information in this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for seeking personalized legal advice from an attorney licensed¹ to practice in your jurisdiction². Further, I do not intend to create an attorney-client relationship with any listener.

Today’s topics is one that I hope not to learn about from the inside: disbarment.

I read today a story about Jack³ Thompson and the Florida Bar's proceedings⁵ involving him.One of the articles mentions disbarment as a possibility, but doesn't talk about what that actually means. How does disbarment work, and what impact does it have on someone who practices law?

The very short answer is that disbarment is bad for lawyer, but good for the public.

Disbarment is a severe sanction against an attorney that results in the attorney losing the ability to practice law in a jurisdiction or to appear before a specific court.

To practice law in a state, an attorney must be admitted to practice by the bar of that state. The bar is sometimes an administrative⁶ arm of the highest court of the state, and is charged with ensuring that the people licensed to practice law are sufficiently⁷ competent and ethical⁸ to carry out the interests of justice. To become a member of the bar, a person must usually go to law school, pass an ethics⁹ test, pass the bar exam, pass a moral character test, and take an oath swearing to uphold the constitutions of that state and the United States. Attorney admissions are public record, and the state bar keeps records of all the people licensed to practice including where they went to law school, when they were admitted to practice, and contact information.

One of the bar’s duties is to ensure that the members that it has admitted remain eligible¹⁰ to practice law throughout their careers. Part of this duty is to act on complaints made by members of the public and the courts. If an attorney does something wrong, then any member of the public can file a grievance¹¹ against him with the state bar, and the state bar will investigate. An attorney can do a great number of things wrong to get himself into trouble including failing to represent a client competently, improperly¹³ handling client funds, acting¹⁴ in any fraudulent manner, or having improper¹² relationships (sexually or otherwise) with a client or another member of the public. A court also has sanction power against the attorneys who practice before it such that the court can make an attorney pay money to the court or the opposing side for acting in a manner proscribed¹⁵ by law. If the sanction is high enough, then the state bar is notified.

The point is, there are several avenues for complaining against an attorney who screws up. Once the complaint is lodged¹⁶, then the state bar takes action to investigate. Depending on the severity of the complaint, and the evidence to support the allegations in the complaint, the state bar can call an attorney into a disciplinary proceeding⁴. The disciplinary proceeding is a bit like a criminal case in that only the government can bring disciplinary proceedings against an attorney. A member of the public can report bad conduct, but does not have the power to actually prosecute¹⁷ an attorney. Once disciplinary proceedings are brought, the attorney can bring forth¹⁸ evidence to show that what he did was not bad, and that he should not be punished. After a hearing or a trial, the state bar judge will determine whether the attorney violated any of his ethical duties to the court or the client, and render a sanction against him.

The sanction for a small infraction¹⁹ can be small: perhaps a year of probation²⁰ and mandatory²¹ ethics classes. This might be an appropriate sanction for an attorney who, for the first time, unintentionally commingles²³ client funds, but cooperates with the state bar to correct the problem. However, if the attorney has engaged in intentionally²² dishonest behavior over the course of time, or willfully fails to cooperate with the state bar, then the punishment will be worse. Some attorneys are suspended for a short time. The ultimate sanction is disbarment: the court decides that the attorney is no longer fit to practice in the jurisdiction, and takes away the attorney’s ability to practice law.

Most states will automatically disbar an attorney for being convicted of a felony.

In the news article about Jack Thompson, he committed a long and dedicated²⁴ course of breaking court rules, including making frivolous²⁵ filings, ignoring court orders, embarrassing the court, and others. He sounds like quite the interesting character.

But, disbarment serves a public purpose – it removes people from the practice of law who have demonstrated that they should not be doing so. Any member of the public can visit a state bar website to look up an attorney to find out what disciplinary proceedings have been lodged against him. This allows the public to make a more informed choice about whom to hire.

I certainly hope that I never have to deal with this process!

Thank you for listening to Legal Lad’s Quick and Dirty Tips for a More Lawful²⁶ Life. Check out the newest Quick and Dirty Tips Podcast, Make-It-Green Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for an Earth-Friendly Life to learn how to be a better citizen of earth.

You can send questions and comments to。。。。。。or call them in to the voicemail line at 206-202-4LAW. Please note that doing so will not create an attorney-client relationship and will be used for the purposes of this podcast only.

 

1 licensed   

adj.得到许可的v.许可，颁发执照(license的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The new drug has not yet been licensed in the US. 这种新药尚未在美国获得许可。
• Is that gun licensed? 那支枪有持枪执照吗？

2 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

5 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 sufficiently   

adv.足够地，充分地

参考例句：

• It turned out he had not insured the house sufficiently.原来他没有给房屋投足保险。
• The new policy was sufficiently elastic to accommodate both views.新政策充分灵活地适用两种观点。

8 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

9 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

10 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

11 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。

12 improper   

adj.不适当的，不合适的，不正确的，不合礼仪的

参考例句：

• Short trousers are improper at a dance.舞会上穿短裤不成体统。
• Laughing and joking are improper at a funeral.葬礼时大笑和开玩笑是不合适的。

13 improperly   

不正确地，不适当地

参考例句：

• Of course it was acting improperly. 这样做就是不对嘛！
• He is trying to improperly influence a witness. 他在试图误导证人。

14 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

15 proscribed   

v.正式宣布（某事物）有危险或被禁止( proscribe的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They are proscribed by federal law from owning guns. 根据联邦法律的规定，他们不准拥有枪支。 来自辞典例句
• In earlier days, the church proscribed dancing and cardplaying. 从前，教会禁止跳舞和玩牌。 来自辞典例句

16 lodged   

v.存放( lodge的过去式和过去分词 )；暂住；埋入；（权利、权威等）归属

参考例句：

• The certificate will have to be lodged at the registry. 证书必须存放在登记处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Our neighbours lodged a complaint against us with the police. 我们的邻居向警方控告我们。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 prosecute   

vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官

参考例句：

• I am trying my best to prosecute my duties.我正在尽力履行我的职责。
• Is there enough evidence to prosecute?有没有起诉的足够证据？

18 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

19 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

20 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

21 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

22 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

23 commingles   

v.混合，掺和，合并( commingle的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• His book commingles sarcasm and sadness. 他的作品混合了挖苦和悲伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

25 frivolous   

adj.轻薄的；轻率的

参考例句：

• This is a frivolous way of attacking the problem.这是一种轻率敷衍的处理问题的方式。
• He spent a lot of his money on frivolous things.他在一些无聊的事上花了好多钱。

26 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。