Court Code of Conduct

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Rules of the Court
The following is a list of rules set in place by the Supreme Justicesunder the DoJ used in ONX's San Andreas.
Accurate as of March 5th, 2024.
==Rules of Professional Conduct==
===1.1 | Competence===
*A lawyer shall provide competent representation to a client. Competent representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.
*A lawyer shall act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing a client.
===1.2 | Client-Lawyer Relationship===
*A lawyer shall abide by a client's decisions concerning the objectives of representation and shall consult with the client as to the means by which they are to be pursued. A lawyer may take such action on behalf of the client as is impliedly authorized to carry out the representation.
*A lawyer shall abide by a client's decision whether to settle a matter. In a criminal case, the lawyer shall abide by the client's decision, after consultation with the lawyer, as to a plea to be entered and whether the client will testify.
*A lawyer may limit the scope of the representation if the limitation is reasonable under the circumstances and the client gives informed consent.
* A lawyer shall not counsel a client to engage, or assist a client, in conduct that the lawyer knows is criminal or fraudulent, but a lawyer may discuss the legal consequences of any proposed course of conduct with a client and may counsel or assist a client to make a good faith effort to determine the validity, scope, meaning or application of the law.
===1.3 | Fees===
*A lawyer shall not make an agreement for, charge, or collect an unreasonable fee or an unreasonable amount for expenses.
*The scope of the representation and the basis or rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible shall be communicated to the client, preferably in writing, before or within a reasonable time after commencing the representation.
===1.4 | Confidentiality=== 
*A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted below.
*A lawyer may reveal information relating to the representation of a client to the extent the lawyer reasonably believes necessary:
**to prevent reasonably certain death or substantial bodily harm;
**to prevent the client from committing a crime or fraud that is reasonably certain to result in substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another and in furtherance of which the client has used or is using the lawyer's services;
**to prevent, mitigate or rectify substantial injury to the financial interests or property of another that is reasonably certain to result or has resulted from the client's commission of a crime or fraud in furtherance of which the client has used the lawyer's services;
**to secure legal advice about the lawyer's compliance with these Rules;
**to establish a claim or defense on behalf of the lawyer in a controversy between the lawyer and the client, to establish a defense to a criminal charge or civil claim against the lawyer based upon conduct in which the client was involved, or to respond to allegations in any proceeding concerning the lawyer's representation of the client;
**to comply with other law or a court order; or
**to detect and resolve conflicts of interest arising from the lawyer’s change of employment or from changes in the composition or ownership of a firm, but only if the revealed information would not compromise the attorney-client privilege or otherwise prejudice the client.
===1.5 | Conflict of Interest===
*A lawyer shall not represent a client if the representation involves a concurrent conflict of interest.
*Notwithstanding the existence of a concurrent conflict of interest, a lawyer may represent a client if:
**the lawyer reasonably believes that the lawyer will be able to provide competent and diligent representation to each affected client;
**each affected client gives informed consent, confirmed in writing.
===2.1 | Meritorious Claims===
*A lawyer shall not bring or defend a proceeding, or assert or controvert an issue therein, unless there is a basis in law and fact for doing so that is not frivolous, which includes a good faith argument for an extension, modification or reversal of existing law. A lawyer for the defendant in a criminal proceeding, or the respondent in a proceeding that could result in incarceration, may nevertheless so defend the proceeding as to require that every element of the case be established.
===2.2 | Candor Toward the Court===
*A lawyer shall not knowingly make a false statement of fact or law to a tribunal or fail to correct a false statement of material fact or law previously made to the tribunal by the lawyer.
*A lawyer shall not knowingly offer evidence that the lawyer knows to be false. If a lawyer, the lawyer’s client, or a witness called by the lawyer, has offered material evidence and the lawyer comes to know of its falsity, the lawyer shall take reasonable remedial measures, including, if necessary, disclosure to the tribunal. A lawyer may refuse to offer evidence, other than the testimony of a defendant in a criminal matter, that the lawyer reasonably believes is false.
===2.3 | Candor Toward Opposing Counsel===
*A lawyer shall not unlawfully obstruct another party' s access to evidence or unlawfully alter, destroy or conceal a document or other material having potential evidentiary value. A lawyer shall not counsel or assist another person to do any such act.
*A lawyer shall not falsify evidence, counsel or assist a witness to testify falsely, or offer an inducement to a witness that is prohibited by law.
===2.4 | Lawyer as Witness ===
*A lawyer shall not act as advocate at a trial in which the lawyer is likely to be a necessary witness unless:
** the testimony relates to an uncontested issue;
**the testimony relates to the nature and value of legal services rendered in the case; or
**disqualification of the lawyer would place substantial hardship on the client.
===2.5 | Prosecution===
*The prosecutor in a criminal case shall:
**refrain from prosecuting a charge that the prosecutor knows is not supported by probable cause;
**make reasonable efforts to assure that the accused has been advised of the right to, and the procedure for obtaining, counsel and has been given reasonable opportunity to obtain counsel.
===2.6 | Lawyer With Firsthand Knowledge===
*Any lawyer who represents a client in a matter to which the lawyer personally witnessed or has first-hand personal knowledge of, must notify a judge of the same either prior to the commencement of a bench trial, immediately after the matter is entered onto the docket, or upon first becoming aware of the potential conflict.
===3.1 | Duty to Report Misconduct===
*A lawyer who knows that another lawyer, judge, or bar-certified individual has committed a violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct that raises a substantial question as to that person's honestly, trustworthiness, or fitness to practice law, shall report such conduct to a judge or other bar association official.
Category:DoJ
Category:Government