Opinion
November 15, 2007
The Honorable Supreme Court met pursuant to adjournment.
The following order was passed:
It is ordered that Part IX Professionalism of the Rules and Regulations of the State Bar of Georgia, establishing the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, be amended as to the criteria for appointment of a non-lawyer by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia, as follows:
Rule 9-102. Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism
(A) Membership, Appointment and Terms
There is established a permanent Commission of the State Bar of Georgia known as the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism. The Commission shall consist of twenty-two (22) members as follows: (1) the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia or his or her designee, who shall serve as Chair of the Commission; (2) The Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals or his or her designee; (3) one superior court judge designated by the Council of Superior Court Judges; (4) one state court judge designated by the Council of State Court Judges; (5) five law school faculty members designated by the deans of the accredited law schools in the State of Georgia, one of whom must be a member of the State Bar Committee on Professionalism; provided, however, such faculty members shall not be from the same law school; (6) two non-lawyer citizens from the public at large; (7) the President of the State Bar of Georgia; (8) the President of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia; (9) one Federal District Judge; and (10) eight members of the State Bar of Georgia actively engaged in the practice of law, one of whom must be employed by a unit of federal state, or local government, one must be engaged primarily in criminal defense practice, one must be a federal or state prosecutor, and one must be in-house counsel.
Three of the practicing lawyers and one of the non-lawyer citizens from the public at large shall be appointed by the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia. The remaining members of the Commission, with the exception of the President of the State Bar of Georgia, the President of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia, the superior court judge, and the state court judge, shall be appointed by the Supreme Court. The terms of the members of the Commission shall be staggered and that shall be accomplished by the initial appointments being as follows: two of the practicing lawyer members appointed by the Board of Governors shall serve until the conclusion of the State Bar Annual Meeting in 1990; the non-lawyer general public member shall serve until the conclusion of the State Bar Annual Meeting in 1990; the superior court judge member, one practicing lawyer member appointed by the Board of Governors and one law faculty member shall serve until the conclusion of the State Bar Annual Meeting in 1991. The remaining members of the Commission shall serve until the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the State Bar in 1992. Thereafter, the superior court judge member shall serve for a two year term as designated by the Council of Superior Court Judges, the state court judge member shall serve for a two year term as designated by the Council of State Court Judges, and all other members of the Commission shall serve for three (3) year terms, and no member (except the Chief Justice, that member appointed by the Court of Appeals, and the law school representatives) may serve more than two (2) terms on the Commission.
(B) Powers and Duties of the Commission:
The Commission's major responsibilities shall be:
(1) To consider efforts by lawyers and judges to improve the administration of justice;
(2) To examine ways of making the system of justice more accessible to the public;
(3) To monitor and coordinate Georgia's professionalism efforts in such institutional settings as its bar, courts, law schools and law firms;
(4) To monitor professionalism efforts in jurisdictions outside Georgia;
(5) To conduct a study and issue a report on the present state of professionalism within Georgia;
(6) To plan the yearly Convocation on Professionalism;
(7) To promote various regional convocations on professionalism;
(8) To provide guidance and support to the Commission on Continuing Lawyer Competency in its implementation and execution of the continuing legal education professionalism requirement;
(9) To help implement a professionalism component in the Bridge-the-Gap program;
(10) To make recommendations to the Supreme Court and the State Bar concerning additional means by which professionalism can be enhanced;
(11) To receive and administer gifts and grants; and
(12) The Commission shall have no authority to impose sanctions of any kind upon any member of the State Bar of Georgia.
(C) Finances
Funding for the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism shall be provided by an additional surcharge for each active State Bar member who attends a course in professionalism sponsored by the Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) or by any other sponsor approved by the Commission. The rate shall be set annually by the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, and the surcharge shall be remitted directly to it by ICLE, by any other such sponsor, or, in an appropriate case, by the individual State Bar member who attended a course in professionalism approved by the Commission.
I hereby certify that the above is a true extract from the minutes of the Supreme Court of Georgia Witness my signature and the seal of said court hereto affixed the day and year last above written.