WHEREAS, the practice of law is a service-oriented industry and consumers should have access to information pertinent to their decision to retain an attorney; and

WHEREAS, an attorney is privy to potentially sensitive information relating to a client; and

WHEREAS, in 1998 and 1999, Hawaii led the nation in the rate of severe sanctions imposed against attorneys for professional misconduct and had one of the highest sanction rates overall; and

WHEREAS, an attorney's prospective clients need to have access to disciplinary action information to determine whether the attorney can be entrusted with their legal concerns; and

WHEREAS, currently, under rule 2.22 of the Rules of the Supreme Court, an attorney disciplinary proceeding is not a matter of public record until a hearing committee or officer files a recommendation for public discipline with the Disciplinary Board of the Hawaii Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS, the sanctions for a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct include private informal admonition, private reprimand, public reprimand, public censure, suspension, and disbarment, and only private informal admonitions and private reprimands are protected from disclosure by confidentiality requirements; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Supreme Court is seeking public comment by June 30, 2003, regarding the Disciplinary Board's proposal to amend rule 2.22 to make attorney disciplinary proceedings public ninety days after the filing of a disciplinary petition; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that the public's right to this information must be balanced against the rights of attorneys whose reputations may be damaged by false accusations of misconduct; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-Second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, that the Legislature takes no position on the issue of making public the investigative and deliberative phases of an attorney disciplinary proceeding, but recommends that the disposition of a proceeding, including the imposition of any sanctions or dismissal of the petition, be made public after the completion of the proceeding; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Judiciary Public Affairs Office.

Report Title:

Attorney Discipline; Confidentiality; Proposed Rule Change