From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lee@piclab.com)
Date: Sat Apr 15 2000 - 13:16:27 MDT
> In my state (California)
> lawyers merely take an oath to (1) uphold the Constitution and
> (2) faithfully execute the duties of a lawyer.
And who decides what "the duties of a lawyer" are? The
local bar, and the courts. That's an oath of loyalty to
those institutions, even if it's dressed up as something
else.
>
> Further, the state and national bar associations are no more
> "government-backed" than any other professional association. The BA has no
> rights or powers other than the oversight of the members of the profession.
> In this respect it is no different than, say, state medical boards.
Again, it pretends to not be government-backed, but the plain
undenaiable fact is that if the bar association kicks you out
for violating its rules, the government court will not let you
represent defendants. That's a government-backed monopoly, no
matter how many times you protest that it isn't.
And yes, medical boards are just as bad: if you don't follow
their rules, you don't get to practice medicine. Cnesure by
either board is not merely a recommendation to consumers: it is
a prohibition with the force of law.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:28:00 MST