Rescinded Legal Principles Act

[End]

A
BILL
To

Reform the Redmont Bar Association and establish legal principles.

The people of DemocracyCraft, through their elected Representatives in the Congress and the force of law ordained to that Congress by the people through the constitution, do hereby enact the following provisions into law:​

1 - Short Title and Enactment
(1) This Act may be cited as the “Legal Principles Act”
(2) This Act shall be enacted immediately upon passage and Presidential assent.
(3) This Act has been authored by: Rep. xEndeavour
(4) The Act has been co-sponsored by: TBA
(5) This Act's passage is dependent on the passage of the 'Legal Principles Act.'

2 - Reasons
(1) The RBA has been marred by internal conflict since it's inception and it has proven ineffective in almost all metrics.

3 - Legal Practice
(1) Only persons qualified by the Redmont Bar Association may practice law and be certified as a lawyer. This qualification shall exist, by default, in the form of a test or series of tests taken at the university to award one of three qualifications: solicitor, barrister, or attorney.
(2) Lawyers may be disbarred from practice by the court for a period of up to 1 month for:
(a) committing perjury
(b) breaching attorney client privilege
(c) filing excessive frivolous court cases
(d) or any other matter that the court believes is significantly unbecoming of the legal profession.
(3) Once a practicing license is restored, the corresponding lawyer must meet all then-current entry requirements as specified in clauses one and two of this section.

4 - Attorney-Client Privilege
(1) Attorney-client privilege shall exist as soon as a client engages in a formal discussion with a lawyer and/or his/her staff regarding a case, potential case, or other legal matter.
(2) The lawyer shall not be permitted to disclose the contents of the discussion except with the voluntary and written permission of the client.
(3) Lawyers shall not be held liable for conspiracy or acting as an accessory to a crime when it is in connection with matters protected by attorney-client privilege.
(4) Lawyers may break attorney-client privilege should the client be directly involved with an instance of corruption or he/she poses an imminent threat to the safety of others.

5 - Public Defence
(1) The Courts will maintain a legal defence team at public expense, which will be facilitated by court clerks.
(2) The Public Defender Program shall consist of qualified barristers and/or attorneys with the goal of providing publicly-funded legal aid to people of low income.
(3) In any case that reverts to a default judgement, the presiding Judge may request a public defender to represent the Defendant.
(4) Any person with a total balance (combined company and personal balance) under $15,000 is permitted to utilise the services of the Public Defender Program, and request the aid of a Public Defender to represent him/her for free in any case where the person is the defendant. The court shall assign Public Defenders to cases as he/she sees fit.
(5) The Public Defender Program shall be funded through Judicial appropriations.
(6) The courts shall be permitted to recruit, regulate, and terminate public defenders as seen fit. The courts shall not be allowed to regulate the external activities of a public defender, only those activities which relate to the duties carried out in a Public Defender capacity.
(7) Public Defenders shall be paid no less than $50 and no more than $250 per case.