Vetoed The Lovely Act

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BlogWorldExpo

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A
BILL
To

Amend the Modern Legal Board Act

The people of the Commonwealth of Redmont, through their elected Representatives and Senators 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 “The Lovely Act”.
(2) This Act shall be enacted upon the closure of the current term in the RBA.
(3) This Act has been authored by Nacholebraa & Drew_Hall
(4) This act has been co-sponsored by: Sen. Trentrick_Lamar

2 - Reasons
  1. To provide clarity within The Redmont Bar Association

3 - Amendment to Section 5
Subsection a. changes to subsection b.

A) (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 managed and led by an elected Council of four.
(4) The Board and Council shall be overseen by an elected Chairperson.


b) (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.
(4) The Board and Council shall be overseen by an elected Chairperson.


4 - Amendment to Section 6
Subsection a. changes to subsection b.

A) .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. 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.


B) 6 - The Chairperson
(1) The Chairperson shall be responsible for enacting, amending, and repealing RBA policy, as well as overseeing the Public Defender Program and all other RBA programs.
(2) The Chairperson shall be an elected attorney, elected for a period of 2 months.
(2.1) Only lawyers with the Attorney Qualification and have attained 24 hours playtime and 12 hours of playtime within the last 30 days may run for Chairperson.
(3) 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 may reserve their vote for a tie-breaker.
(4) 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.
(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.


5 - Amendment to Section 9
Subsection a. changes to subsection b.

A) (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.


B) The Chairperson of the RBA may be recalled by the Board, should at least 10 members of the Board motion for the recall to take place. Should the quorum be met for a recall of the chairperson, the chairperson should initialize a public poll under the RBA subform within the court section on the forums. The created poll shall not exceed greater than 48 hours in length. A majority is defined by the most in favor or against the recall at the conclusion of the 48 hour poll. Should the recall remove the Chairperson, a special election to fill the vacancy created by the recall shall be overseen by the Department of State.


6 - Amendment to Section 10
Subsection a. changes to subsection b.

A) (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.


B) (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 $150 and no more than $400 per case.


7 - Amendment to Section 11
Subsection a. changes to subsection b.

A ) (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.


B) (1) Prosecutors, who must be attorneys, shall be managed by the Attorney General.
(2) Payment for cases will be a range of $150 - $400 at the discretion of 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.



8 - Amendment to Section 12
Subsection a. changes to subsection b.

A) (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.



B) (1) The Redmont Bar Association shall be entitled to appropriations from the DCGovernmentAG 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. Should the Chairperson authorize the illicit spending shall be guilty of corruption and be removed from office.
(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. The Chairperson shall not be allowed to pay themselves with appropriations. Should the Chairperson authorize this illicit spending shall be guilty of corruption and be removed from office.


8 - Repealing all amendments to the Modern Legal Board Act
  1. All acts amending the modern legal board act shall be repealed.
 
Last edited:

Veto


This bill is hereby vetoed.

After discussion with the Chairman of the Redmont Bar Association and with several legal experts, I cannot sign this bill in good conscience. The bill is improperly written in a way that doesn't fully define the changes to the board and opens up a range of contentious issues.

In Section 3, it removes the elected council, yet still includes language referencing the existence of a council. For these claims I will bold the term and the clauses that this legislation still intends to keep:

- "(4) The Board and Council shall be overseen by an elected Chairperson."
- "(5) The Department of State shall manage the elections for the Council and the Chairperson in a fair and impartial manner."

This lack of clarity as to whether the council has been removed or not will result in a failure to properly adjust the board's restructuring should this bill pass.

Furthermore, several budgetary issues arise in this bill. Firstly, the expectations to the Office of the Attorney General. This bill takes away the Attorney General's discretion over their own budget significantly, by both removing the Attorney General's ability to determine compensation; and by mandating that the RBA is funded by the AG account.

After, aside from limiting the Office of the Attorney General, this bill would effectively create a conflict of interest, in where public defence is funded by the same office that funds prosecution.

The sole reason of this bill is to "provide clarity" however I find that it tends be on the contrary, creating further confusion around restructuring and budgetary matters. I would advise Congress to re-consider and clarify a bill with more extensive intentions specified in the reasons.

 
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