Judicial Conflicts of Interest

NOTE: The below sounds like it should apply to all of the states . . .

Bill would bar the N.H. Bar Association

http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050606/NEWS1301/106060039

By Rep. Richard Marple
Merrimack County District 9

House Bill 541 will repeal the corporate charter of the New Hampshire Bar Association. Grounds for revocation of the charter arose as a result of judicial fiat by the New Hampshire Supreme Court asserting a very dubious and self-serving claim of "inherent judicial authority."

Voila, a unified bar was created placing the livelihood of every attorney in the state under the direct control of the Supreme Court and providing the cover of coerced silence to the predilection of the court to legislate from the bench. This placed the bar in a plain and egregious violation of Article 83 of the New Hampshire Constitution.

The status of the Bar Association is, in reality, a closed shop — a brotherhood of a predominantly like-minded, self-interested elite, united in its devotion to the interests of the judiciary.

Members of the bar are found in all three branches of our government. This obvious conflict of interest is prohibited by the separation of powers enumerated in Article 37 of the Bill of Rights. Concentration of such multiple powers constitutes a violation of the Constitution and is in opposition of the oath of every attorney.

Article 83 delegates to the Legislature "to enact laws to prevent the operations within the state of all persons and associations, and all trusts and corporations, foreign or domestic, and the officers thereof, who endeavor to raise the price of any article of commerce or to destroy free and fair competition in the trades and industries through combination, conspiracy, monopoly, or other unfair means ..."

The evils sought to be prevented by this constitutional provision have been neutralized by the Supreme Court-mandated monopoly of attorneys. Restoration of the free market can only be accomplished by dissolution of the current monopoly. HB 541 addresses this important and necessary consumer protection legislation.

A public hearing on HB 541 was held before the House Judiciary Committee, and resulted in a subcommittee formed for in-depth study. This power to repeal was wisely reserved by the Legislature in the charter granted in 1873. The penalty for breach of Article 83 will be the liquidation of all Bar Association's assets, to escheat to the state.

All attorneys are now compelled to be members of the unified bar, pay annual dues or lose their ability to engage in their profession and earn a living. Each attorney must also pay annual taxes in amounts ordered and determined solely by the Supreme Court. Thus, the bar acts as the court's subservient agent in enforcing the attorneys compelled performance and collection of the unconstitutional exactions.

Black's Law Dictionary, sixth edition, defines such action as "criminal coercion" and referenced as a prohibition in the Model Penal Code 212.5 .

A lobbyist testifying at the public hearing for the Bar Association, stated over 5,000 attorneys are now practicing in this state. All are compelled by the Supreme Court to pay into a Public Protection Fund, now in excess of a $1 million and controlled by the Bar Association for its own use and benefit. Public accountability requires an audit. Over 500 attorneys now receive bi-weekly paychecks provided by the taxpayers.

The first principle of justice is that "no man should be the judge of his own case." This maxim is violated by judges and lawyers who have created their own committees to review their own conduct. This is akin to the fox watching the chicken coop and is a serious conflict of interest.

The mandate against monopolies in Article 83 is ignored by the Supreme Court and its creature, the unified bar. Accordingly, it must be dismantled.

Any voluntary private bar organization may lawfully exist for public interest, but cannot be a monopoly with compelled paid membership.

All readers should contact their representatives, senators, executive councilors and the governor. Demand the monopoly New Hampshire Bar Association be dismantled by enacting HB 541.