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Coalition Files Comment Letter Opposing Rule Proposal by Department of Justice That Weakens Misconduct Discipline Process
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing a comment letter opposing a proposed rule by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that seeks to limit state bar disciplinary proceedings related to alleged ethical misconduct by DOJ attorneys.
If the proposed rule were adopted, the Justice Department may be able to request that state bar organizations pause any investigation or disciplinary proceeding involving DOJ attorneys. States that decline such a request may be subject to undefined retaliatory actions by the federal government.
The licensing and regulation of lawyers has been handled by the States since the Nation’s founding. Federal law specifies that DOJ attorneys are subject to State laws and rules in the same manner as other attorneys in that State. This comment letter seeks to hold DOJ attorneys to that basic standard and pushes back on DOJ’s attempts to circumvent that process.
Attorney General Brown was joined in the comment letter by the attorneys general of Minnesota, the District of Columbia, Colorado, New Jersey, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington.
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