The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-02-07
LEGAL ETHICS.
An Address Delivered Before State
Bar Association by Chief Justice
Eugene B. Gary, Jan. rs, 10l2.


Of conciliation, love Of truth and jus
tice, an enlightened zeal for the veal
and the oppressed, which are the es
sential foundations of their profes
sion."
! In England, the first persons regu'
larly licensed to practice In the Kings
courts, were called sergeants, that is
servants at law of our Lord the
King" Unlike all prior advocates
they were a part of the Court itself;
were regularly appointed by royal
patent; were admitted only upon TAX
ing oath; had a monopoly Of all the
practice, and were directly amenable
to the king, as a part Of his judicial
system. For several generations the
sergeants constituted the entire bar,
but about the time Edward II, other
persons came to be admitted to the
practice; under the name Of Counsel
lors at Law" At present the order OF
sergeants Is extinct. The oath Of the
ancient advocate, bound him to serve
both the king and "his people" The
English barrister afterwards, was
made a part of the Court, and 1t. was
his duty to advise the Court, on the
law Of the case, and to assist the suit
or, in presenting his testimony; an,
to both, he was required to act with
the utmost good faith. In England,
the advocates were not simply mem
bers Of a learned profession, but OF a
distinct order OF society, established
by civil authority, constituting fra
ternity, with settled rules and usages,
and known as the order of advocates.
The office Of the advocate in Amer
lea combines the powers conferred
upon the attorney at law and the bar
rister in England. His status Is thus
defined in ex parte Garland 4 Wall,
333.
"The profession of an attorney and
counsellor, is not like an Office Great
ed by an Act Of Congress, which de-
pends for its continuance, its powers
and is emoluments, upon the will OF
it's creator, and the possession OF
which, may be burdened with any
conditions, not prohibited by the Con-
,titution. Attorneys and counsellors
ire not officers Of the United States,
hey are not elected or appointed, In
the manner prescribed by the Consti-
5ution for the election and appoint
nent of such officers. They are Of
icers of the Court; admitted as such
by it's order, upon evidence of their
possessing enough legal learning and
fair private character .Ihe
order of admission is the judgment OF
he Court, that the parties possess the
requisite qualifications as attorneys
md counsellors, and are entitled to
appear as such and conduct cases
herein. From it's entry the parties
,ecome officers of the Court, and are
responsible to it, for professional mis-
conduct. They hold their Office dur
'ng good behavior, and can only be de-
orived of it for misconduct, ascert-
aimed and declared by the judgment OF
he Court, after opportunity to be
heard has been afforded. Their admis-
sion or their exclusion is not the ex-
,rcise of a mere ministerial power.
It is the exercise of judicial power
md has been so held in numerous
cases
De Tocqueville, the first great OBJ
server Of American institutions, was
struck with the fact that we had no
class, corresponding to that OF the
nobility in other countries; but reach
ed the conclusion that the legal pro-
fession in America takes the place
Of an order of nobility in other coun-
tries. Many years ago he said:
"In America there are no mobiles or
literary men, and the people are apt
to mistrust the wealthy; lawyers,
therefore, form the highest political
! class. AS the lawyers form
the only enlightened class whom the
people do not mistrust, they are nat
urally called upon to occupy most OF
the public stations. They fill the leg
islative assemblies, and are at the
head of the administration; they con-
sequently exercise a powerful inf1u-
ence upon the formation Of the law
and upon it's execution.
In speaking of lawyers responsible
ity, Chancellor Kent we'll SAID:
"The responsibilities attached to the
profession and practice Of the law
are of the most momentous charac'
ter. It's members by their vocation
ought to be fitted for the great public
duties Of life, and they may be said tt
be, ex-oficio, natural guardians Of the
law, and to stand sentinel over the
Constitutions and liberties OF thu
country"
No very specific enumeration of the
duties of the advocate has ever beer
made by statute, either in England Of
America. In the main, until recently
the ethical Code of the profession, wal
unwritten. On several occasions