Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Legal Profession

Abstract

The United States Attorney  General, state attorneys general, and high-ranking officials in their offices, like all lawyers, are subject to rules of professional conduct.  Increasingly,  when they  push the  boundaries of  these  rules and other well-established  professional  norms,  individuals  and  organizations  are  filing state  lawyer  disciplinary  grievances  against  them.  While  some  see  troubling conduct  by  these  high-ranking  legal  officers,  others  view  these  disciplinary grievances  as  politically  motivated.  State  lawyer  disciplinary  authorities  often try to avoid addressing these grievances. This article  examines  why it is nonetheless  important  for  state  lawyer  disciplinary  authorities—which  are  arms  of state courts—to act on certain grievances. It explains why the political process cannot  be  relied  upon  to  respond  to  serious  misconduct  by  these  high-ranking legal  officers and why other  institutions  that  could  address misconduct  are ill- equipped or unlikely to act. The article then describes developments in one state that make it more difficult for some grievants to file actionable  grievances and for  state  disciplinary  authorities  to  pursue  certain  grievances  against  these high-ranking  legal  officers.  It  explains  why  these  developments  are  misguided. It then suggests some ways to accommodate the concerns and competing interests at stake when state disciplinary authorities receive grievances against these officials.  The  article  also  identifies  some  types  of  professional  misconduct  by these officials that are sufficiently problematic that state disciplinary authorities should act to address this misconduct.

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