So now Harriet Miers might face contempt charges before the full Congress, and Democrat senators are demanding the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate possible perjury by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
What’s the real connecting factor here? They’re both Texas lawyers. Miers and Gonzales both still hold their license to practice law with the State Bar of Texas. So, if they did end up on the business-end of legal proceedings up on Capitol Hill, could they still practice Lone Star State law?
Quick answer from the State Bar: maybe yes, maybe no. It would all depend on interpretations of the disciplinary rules. The problem is that this is all uncharted territory, so there’s no precedent to follow. And beware, there’s legalese ahead.
There might be an issue under part 8 of the Texas’ Rules of Disciplinary Procedure. If the bar’s Board of Disciplinary Appeals finds that either had been found guilty of either a felony involving moral turpitude or committed what would be classified as an intentional crime, then they could suspend their licenses. Under what’s known as the reciprocal discipline, that doesn’t just apply to a crime in Texas but to any jurisdiction. What is unclear at this point is whether either contempt of Congress or perjury before Congress counts as an intentional crime, or whether Congress actually counts as a jurisdiction.
If that’s not confusing enough, there’s also the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Section 3.03 talks about candor to the tribunal and makes deliberate misuse of evidence. Like, say, perjury a big no-no. Section 3.04 deals with fairness in adjudicatory proceedings, which is pretty brutal on withholding evidence or doing something to deliberately disrupt proceedings. Like, say, no-showing when a subpoena’s been issued. But, again, this depends on whether Congress is a jurisdiction. And whether the House and Senate move ahead and gain convictions. And then if anyone makes an official inquiry to the Bar. So we can only presume Miers and Gonzales are still going to get invited to the bar’s summer luau. If they have one.
This article appears in July 20 • 2007.
