Title: In re JLAP.3pc

State: arkansas

Issuer: Arkansas Supreme Court

Document:

Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS No. 98-1369 IN RE: JUDGES AND LAWYERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM Opinion Delivered 4-1-10 PER CURIAM We have before us a petition filed on behalf of the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program Committee (Committee) seeking action on three different matters. First, the Committee seeks approval to add law students to the individuals eligible for the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP). The Court elects to defer action on this request pending additional information pertaining to the costs of such an action, as well as clarification of the manner in which the respective law schools will participate were such an action taken. Second, the Committee seeks clarification and consolidation of numerous rules relating to JLAP which would lead to consistency of terminology, parties, and other similar issues. Third, the Committee seeks to add certain individuals who would be eligible for immunity under the current language of the rules. Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 The original lawyers assistance program was created by per curiam order of this Court dated December 7, 2000. It was given the acronym of ALAP. Subsequently, by per curiam order dated January 10, 2008 we adopted a new “Procedure Manual” and changed the designation of the program to Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program - JLAP. Throughout this order, JLAP shall reference both the orders entered under the acronym ALAP as well as the current pleadings filed under JLAP. The original JLAP order created a “confidentiality” provision, Rule 10, for everyone involved in the lawyers assistance program. With the adoption of a confidentiality provision, it became necessary to amend both the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers (Lawyer Rules) and the Code of Judicial Conduct (Judge Rules) to accommodate this requirement. The manner in which that was accomplished in 2000 was to amend the Lawyer rules and Judge rules separately. The JLAP Committee now contends that the preferable method of extending the confidentiality provision to judges and lawyers is to incorporate those individuals within the ambit of Rule 10 of the JLAP rules. By this approach, it is then possible to delete the previous changes to Rule 8.3(e) of the Model Rules of Professional Conduct for Lawyers and delete Comment [4a] from Rule 2.15 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. In this manner, all obligations and limitations related to attorneys and judges, as regards confidentiality when dealing with JLAP, are now governed exclusively by Section 10 of the JLAP rules. -2- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 As noted above, on January 10, 2008, we adopted a new “procedure manual” for the JLAP program. Incorporated within that new manual was a Section titled “Confidentiality.” To some extent, it followed the verbage of Rule 10, which was the original confidentiality provision adopted in 2000. However, in important respects, it failed to include some provisions of that rule, and added individuals (licensed health care professionals) to the confidentiality language. In line with the objective of the foregoing paragraphs to consolidate all “confidentiality” provisions in one rule, that being Rule 10 of the JLAP rules, the “Confidentiality” Section of the procedure manual should be deleted. There are necessary “exceptions” to the confidentiality under Rule 10. For example, should a judge confidentially refer a lawyer to JLAP, who then violates the terms of the JLAP program, and the judge becomes aware of that violation, then the judge is excused from his or her confidentiality limitation and is obliged to report the attorney’s inappropriate behavior, perhaps both to JLAP and to the judicial disciplinary authority. A similar scenario would arise in connection with an attorney who has knowledge that another attorney, who is in the JLAP program, is violating the terms of that program or is otherwise acting inappropriately. To deal with these exceptions, as was the case with confidentiality, an additional paragraph was added in 2000 to both the Judge Rules and the Lawyer Rules purporting to set forth the grounds for such exceptions. The language incorporated in both sets of rules was not particularly clear; nor was it the same for both sets of rules. In response, the Committee -3- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 asks that Section (d) of the current Rule 8.3 of the Lawyer Rules be modified and that Comment [3A] of Rule 2.15 of the Judge Rules also be amended. The order implementing JLAP in 2000 originally had no language on “immunity.” On December 1, 2005, the Court issued a per curiam order amending Rule 10 of the JLAP rules by adding a single paragraph which reads as follows: “Committee members and employees of the Committee are absolutely immune from suit or action for their activities or discharge of duties hereunder to the full extent of judicial immunity of Arkansas.” This language follows similar grants of immunity given to various other Boards or Committees of the Court, such as the Board of Law Examiners and the Continuing Legal Education Board. It is noted that the current immunity language is limited to “Committee members” and “employees of the Committee.” It does not extend to “volunteers.” It is suggested that Rule 4 of the original JLAP rules be amended to delete the reference to volunteers “working in conjunction with the Arkansas Bar Association” (emphasis added) and, that volunteers be added to the immunity provision which appears in the last paragraph of the revised Rule 10 of the original JLAP rules. We concur that the proliferation of rules and regulations, spread across four different sets of rules of this Court, has led to the potential for confusion and misinterpretation on the issues set forth above. For this reason, we find it appropriate to amend specific sections of the -4- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 affected rules. In order to aid the reader of this per curiam order, we will enter individual orders of amendment, separately designating each set of rules affected by this order. 1. CHANGES TO RULES OF THE ARKANSAS LAWYERS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM We amend Rules 4 and 10 of the Rules of the Arkansas Lawyer Assistance Program, which was adopted December 7, 2000 to read as follows: Rule 4. VOLUNTEERS The program shall enlist volunteers whose responsibility may include: (A) assisting in interventions planned by ALAP; (B) acting as twelve-step program sponsors; (C) acting as a contact between ALAP and courts, bar organizations, and local committees; (D) providing compliance monitoring when appropriate; or. (E) performing any other function deemed appropriate and necessary by the committee to fulfill its purposes. Rule 10. CONFIDENTIALITY; DUTY TO REPORT; IMMUNITY Information and actions taken by ALAP shall be held in the strictest confidence and shall not be disclosed or required to be disclosed to any person or entity outside of ALAP, unless such disclosure is authorized by the member of the legal profession to whom it relates -5- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 or as provided in Rule 7 (B) hereof. Such information and actions shall be excluded as evidence in any complaint, investigation, or proceeding before the Arkansas Professional Conduct Committee, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, or their successor entities. No information received, gathered, or maintained by the Committee, its members or volunteers, or by an employee of ALAP in connection with the work of the Committee may be disclosed to any person or be subject to discovery or subpoena in any administrative or judicial proceeding, except upon the express written release of the subject attorney. However, the Committee may refer an attorney to a professional assistance entity, and may, in good faith, communicate information to the entity in connection with the referral. If information obtained by a member of the Committee, a volunteer, or an employee of ALAP gives rise to reasonable suspicion of a direct threat to the health or safety of the subject attorney or other person, then the obligation of confidentiality set forth in this subsection shall not apply, and the Committee member, volunteer, or ALAP employee may make such communications as are necessary for the purpose of avoiding or preventing said threat. Further, ALAP Committee members, employees, or volunteers, who, as licensed health care professionals are mandated reporters pursuant to Arkansas statutes, may make such communications as are required by law. Lawyers who are committee members, employees, or volunteers recruited under Rule 4 are relieved of the duty of disclosure of information to authorities as imposed by Rule 8.3 of -6- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct. Nonetheless, the duty to disclose certain information may be reinstated as set out in Section (d) of Rule 8.3 of those rules. Judges who are committee members or volunteers recruited under Rule 4 are relieved of the duty to report as set forth in the relevant rules of Canon 2 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. However, judges acting either as a committee member or volunteer may be subject to reinstatement of the duty to report as set forth in Rules 2.14 and 2.15 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Comment [3A] to Rule 2.15. JLAP Committee members, employees, and volunteers recruited pursuant to Rule 4, are absolutely immune to suit or action for their activities in discharge of their duties hereunder to the full extent of judicial immunity in Arkansas. 2. CHANGES TO THE ARKANSAS RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT We amend Rule 8.3 of the Arkansas Rules of Professional Conduct to read as follows: Rule 8.3 REPORTING PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT (a) A lawyer having knowledge that another lawyer has committed a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct that raises a substantial question as to that lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects, shall inform the appropriate professional authority. (b) A lawyer having knowledge that a judge has committed a violation of applicable rules of judicial conduct that raises a substantial question as to the judge’s fitness for office shall inform the appropriate authority. -7- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 (c) This rule does not require disclosure of information otherwise protected by Rule 1.6. (d) This rule shall not apply to a member or employee of the Lawyer Assistance Committee (“the Committee”) of the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program (JLAP) or volunteer serving pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules of JLAP regarding information received in one’s capacity as a Committee member, employee, or volunteer. However, the “duty to report” outlined in paragraphs (a) and (b) above is reinstated if, in good faith, the JLAP committee member, employee, or volunteer, has: reason to believe that an attorney participating in the JLAP program is failing to cooperate with said program; is engaged in criminal behavior or the threat thereof; or, is otherwise in violation of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this rule which is beyond or succeeds the behavior upon which the attorney’s participation in JLAP was initially based. We further order that paragraph (e) of Rule 8.3 be deleted. 3. CHANGES TO THE CODE OF JUDICIAL CONDUCT We amend Comment [3A] to Rule 2.15 of the Code of Judicial Conduct which was adopted on April 23, 2009 to read as follows: Comment [3A] This rule shall not apply to a Judge who is a member of the Judges and Lawyers Assistance Committee (“the Committee”) of the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance -8- Cite as 2010 Ark. 161 Program (JLAP) or a volunteer serving pursuant to Rule 4 of the Rules of JLAP regarding information received in his or her capacity as a Committee member or volunteer. However, the “duty to report” outlined in Rule 2.15 above is reinstated if, in good faith, the JLAP committee member or volunteer has: reason to believe that an attorney or judge participating in the JLAP program is failing to cooperate with said program; is engaged in criminal behavior or the threat thereof; or, is otherwise in violation of Rule 2.15 which is beyond or succeeds the behavior upon which the judge’s participation in JLAP was initially based. We further order that Comment [4A] to Rule 2.15 be deleted. 4. CHANGES TO THE JLAP PROCEDURE MANUAL ADOPTED ON FEBRUARY 28, 2008 We amend the “Procedure Manual” adopted by this Court by per curiam order of February 28, 2008 by deleting Section 7 of that rule designated as “Confidentiality”. Presently, that rule is codified in the “publishers notes” which appear on page 450 in volume 2 of the Court Rule volume. That paragraph should be deleted and the following paragraphs renumbered. -9-