Bill: Rejected RBA Reform Act

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Owner
Owner
Representative
Construction & Transport Department
Education Department
Interior Department
Redmont Bar Assoc.
Supporter
Willow Resident
xEndeavour
xEndeavour
constructor
Joined
Apr 7, 2020
Messages
2,087
A
BILL
To


Reform the Redmont Bar Association and amend the Modern Legal Board Act

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 “RBA Reform 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: Rep. xLayzur
(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 - The Redmont Bar Association
(1) A state organization shall hereby be ordained and established, and legally regulated, by this law.
(2) This organization shall be called and hereby known as the Redmont Bar Association.
(3) It shall be responsible for promoting legal education, advising the Government on matters pertaining to the legal profession, acting as a collective in making legal commentary, and providing resources to all lawyers for the universal betterment of their careers.

5 - Organization of the Association
(1) The Board shall consist of all lawyers.
(2) Lawyers consist of all persons holding the solicitor, barrister, or attorney job, not including those disbarred in a Court of Law. This definition shall apply to every instance of the word 'lawyer' in legislation.
(3) The Board shall be administrated by a respected legal figure, as appointed by the Attorney General, for a term of no longer than 2 months (renewable) as 'Chairperson'.
(4) The chairperson may nominate 2 clerks to assist them in representing and administering the will of the organisation.
(4) Organisational policy can be proposed and voted on by all lawyers within the organisation.


6 - The Council and Chairperson
(1) The Council shall consist of four elected barristers and/or attorneys, elected for a period of two months.
(2) The Council shall be responsible for enacting, amending, and repealing RBA policy, as well as overseeing the Public Defender Program and all other RBA programs.
(3) The Chairperson shall be an elected attorney, elected for a period of two months.
(4) The Chairperson shall act as the Speaker of the Redmont Bar Association, appoint all RBA officers and committee Chairpersons, and directly supervise all RBA programs. The Chairperson shall also maintain order and decorum within the RBA council as well as represent the RBA in court if necessary. The chairperson may also designate another lawyer to represent the RBA in court, provided that the chairperson and designee both agree. The Chairperson shall act as a fifth member of the Council, but may reserve their vote for a tie-breaker.
(5) The Department of State shall manage the elections for the Council and the Chairperson in a fair and impartial manner.
(6) Only lawyers may be allowed to vote in RBA elections. All lawyers shall be given an equal vote, and no lawyer, including members of the Judicial Branch, shall be barred from voting in an RBA election.
(7) The current RBA Council and Chairman shall hold their offices until January 20th, 2022.


7 - Legal Licenses
(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) The Redmont Bar Association may add additional requirements or modify the entry exam in conjunction with the Department of Education & Commerce.
(3) The Redmont Bar Association shall be permitted to revoke the practicing license of a lawyer after an investigation and majority vote of the RBA Council including the RBA Chairperson. Causes for disbarment are but are not limited to: committing perjury, breaching attorney client privilege, excessive filing of frivolous court cases, etc.
(4) Practicing licenses shall not be revoked for a period of more than three months. 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.

8 - 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.

9 - Accountability Within the RBA
(1) The Chairperson of the RBA may be recalled by the Board should at least ⅔ of all voting lawyers agree to this removal. A special election to fill the vacancy shall take place immediately, administered by the Department of State.
(2) A councilor of the RBA may be recalled by the Board should at least ⅔ of all voting lawyers agree to this removal. A special election to fill the vacancy shall take place immediately, administered by the Department of State.
(3) Upon proposition by a member of the Council, the Board, with the assent of ¾ of all voting lawyers, may issue a vote of no confidence, where then the entire Council, including the Chairperson, shall be removed from their offices, and a general election shall be triggered. The term of the current council shall be erased, and the two months will begin once more.

10 - The Public Defender Program
(1) The Redmont Bar Association shall permanently maintain a Public Defender Program, which an appointed officer selected by the Chairperson shall direct.
(2) The Public Defender Program shall consist of qualified barristers and/or attorneys with the goal of providing free legal aid to people of low income.
(3) Any case that reverts to a default judgement, where the defendant is inactive, the presiding Judge may request a public defender to represent the Defendant.
(4) Any person with a total (personal+company[ies]) balance not exceeding $15,000 shall be permitted to utilize 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 Director shall assign Public Defenders to cases as he/she sees fit.
(5) The Public Defender Program shall be funded through appropriations by Congress.
(6) The Director shall be permitted to recruit, regulate, and terminate public defenders as he/she sees fit. The Director 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.

11 - Prosecutors
(1) Prosecutors, who must be attorneys, shall be managed by the Attorney General.
(2) Payment for cases will be a flat-rate commission specified by the Attorney General. For particularly complex cases, a further amount may be awarded at the discretion of the Attorney General. Funding will be issued from the Attorney General Government account.
(3) Prosecutors may be assigned any case within a criminal jurisdiction, or at the direction of the Attorney General in relation to Government-party non-criminal cases.
(4) The recruitment process for the Prosecutor team will be handled by the Attorney General, at his/her discretion. Prosecutors may be dismissed at the discretion of the Attorney General, provided that there is a justifiable reason for this dismissal.
(5) Prosecutors will be allocated work at the discretion of the Attorney General.

12 - Appropriations
(1) The Redmont Bar Association shall be entitled to appropriations from the Commonwealth of Redmont to fund the Public Defender Program as well as other programs the RBA may establish.
(2) The Redmont Bar Association may not spend money allocated to the Public Defender Program on other items. Any Councilmember, including the Chairperson, who authorizes this illicit spending shall be guilty of corruption.
(3) The Redmont Bar Association must be appropriated an amount of money sufficient enough to cover the payment for all Public Defenders. The Redmont Bar Association should always be given enough money to be able to fund 10 Public Defenders at the maximum rate at any given time, and this money shall be kept in the Redmont Treasury until it is needed. An amount enough to cover the payment of a Public Defender shall then be transferred to the Redmont Bar Association when necessary.
(4) Congress shall, upon their discretion, appropriate money to the Redmont Bar Association so that they may fund their other programs and pay their staff. Neither the Chairperson nor the Councilors shall be allowed to pay themselves with appropriations. Any Councilmember, including the Chairperson, who authorizes this illicit spending shall be guilty of corruption.
 
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