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Rep. Allen proposes HB2480 to eliminate mandatory Bar Association

March 10, 2013 by 4 Comments


A m e r i c a n  P o s t – G a z e t t e

Distributed by C O M M O N  S E N S E , in Arizona
Sunday, March 10, 2013

Arizona is a right to work state; so why are attorneys required to be part of a union?
Rep. Allen believes mandatory Bar is unconstitutional; eliminating the Bar would eliminate many of the injustices it commits against attorneys

Representative John Allen has introduced a bill which is well overdue, HB2480. It would remove the left wing Arizona Bar’s stranglehold over attorneys, ending its ability to target and discipline conservatives in politically motivated attacks. It is no coincidence that half of the candidates who ran for the Bar’s Board of Governors last year included “reigning in the Bar’s excessive discipline” in their platforms. This is evidence of an epidemic and a cancer in Arizona’s legal community.

We have been seeing the corruption of the Bar’s disciplinary judge William O’Neil exposed over the last few months from his former friend Mark Dixon. It’s time to end this reign of terror and Allen’s bill will do that. Attorneys in Arizona are terrified to speak up about their political views or their opposition to the Bar for fear of being targeted. They have no free speech in their profession. Every attorney who has been disciplined by Judge O’Neil has coincidentally never been allowed back into the practice of law – with the exception of Tom Horne’s “close friend” Carmen Chenal, who we suspect had the power through Horne to broker a deal with O’Neil, unlike Andrew Thomas and other conservatives.

Rep. Allen does an excellent job explaining the unconstitutionality of a mandatory Bar in this hearing. Rep. Eddie Farnsworth observes that even if an attorney is not practicing law, they are required to pay an annual fee of $280 just to continue to “have” the ability to practice law ever again (without being required to take the Bar exam again).

Any discipline of attorneys would be done by the Supreme Court instead, not a left wing State Bar. 20 other states do not have mandatory Bar associations. Here is the language in the bill  – B.  AN ATTORNEY SHALL NOT BE REQUIRED TO BE A MEMBER OF ANY ORGANIZATION TO BECOME OR REMAIN A LICENSED ATTORNEY IN THIS STATE. Read the full text of the bill here. Please support Rep. Allen’s bill and let’s get this passed, NOW!

Arizona Supreme Court's control over state bar debated, contested in House hearing
Arizona Supreme Court’s control over state bar debated, contested in House hearing
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Filed Under: Arizona Politics, Constitutional Law, Judicial, Legislation

Comments

  1. TruConserv says:
    March 10, 2013 at 9:09 am

    A mandatory Bar Association is something one of the big overregulated states like New York or Illinois would have. Arizona should be the last state to have a stranglehold over its legal profession. Problem is the Bar grossly overcharges its attorneys mandatory dues (close to $500/year!) which it then uses to pay professional lobbyists to lobby the legislature and ensure its monopolistic stranglehold. The Bar is controlled by a bunch of power-hungry egomaniacs who use their position to promote politically correct garbage and harass conservatives (Governor Brewer’s former legal counsel Joe Kanefield and Ernest Calderon have been the only exceptions in recent years).

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  2. Mary says:
    March 10, 2013 at 9:11 am

    Representative John Allen is one of the most ethical, principled legislators. If he feels passionately about this, there must be something to it.

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  3. Frankfurter says:
    March 10, 2013 at 9:37 am

    I predict that any attorney who dares to speak up and support this bill will find themselves in trouble with the State Bar, mark my words! The only reason Rep. Eddie Farnsworth can speak up at this hearing is because he’s not currently on active status with the bar. Otherwise I guarantee you the Bar would find *something* to nail him on.

    Reply
  4. aznative says:
    March 27, 2013 at 11:24 am

    I am in total agreement with frankfurtet. The State Bar of Arizona is a financial monopoly wherein Attorneys pay to be humiliated. Moreover, they purport to “protect the public” (Mission Statement) when the have an employee, Hal Nevitt, Director of Members Assistance Program, who has repeated complaints filed against him for sexual assault. Not only has the Arizona State Bar shielded these complaints but also paid for his legal counsel to defend him, all at the expense of Attorneys. A more informative and in depth website regarding this information is AZAACCPR.ORG It is beyond comprehension why the Arizona State Bar would have ever hired a man who had felony convictions, spent time in DOC and appears through public records, is a sexual predator. I think being a Walmart Greeter would prove to be more safe than being a member of the Arizona State Bar. Why must Attorneys be forced to belong to an agency they fear, do not trust and be subjected to a sociopath and sexual predator in order to practice law?

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