Opinion ID: 705948
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The California Attorney Disciplinary System

Text: 3 Under California law, attorney disciplinary matters are handled by the State Bar Court (Bar Court), an administrative agency affiliated with the California State Bar Association (State Bar). Calif.Bus. & Prof.Code Sec. 6086.5. The Bar Court is divided into a Hearing Department and a Review Department. Id. Secs. 6079.1, 6086.65. Disciplinary proceedings are commenced by serving the accused attorney with a Notice to Show Cause. The Hearing Department then conducts a formal adversarial hearing during which the accused attorney and a State Bar prosecutor present evidence before a Bar Court judge. The Hearing Department makes findings and a recommendation regarding appropriate discipline. The attorney may appeal to the Review Department, which reviews the Hearing Department's findings de novo and makes its own recommendation. The attorney may then file a petition for review with the California Supreme Court. 1 Id. Sec. 6082. The Supreme Court either grants review and issues a final order or denies review, in which case the Bar Court's recommendation is filed as an order of the Supreme Court. Id. Sec. 6084; Calif. Court Rule 954. Throughout this process, the Supreme Court retains inherent jurisdiction over attorney disciplinary matters. Id. 951(g).