Opinion ID: 2611450
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the bar's right to appeal

Text: Babilis argues that the current Rules of Lawyer Discipline give a right to appeal only to an attorney subject to discipline and that this Court has no jurisdiction to hear an appeal by the Bar. The prior version of the disciplinary rules explicitly permitted both the attorney [and] Bar counsel to file a formal appeal from the recommendations of the Board to this Court. See Procedures of Discipline of the Utah State Bar Rule XIV(a) (1992). Under the revised disciplinary rules, formal complaints are adjudicated by district courts and [e]xcept as otherwise provided in these rules, the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure governing civil appeals, and the Utah Rules of Evidence, apply in formal discipline actions and disability actions. R. Lawyer Discipline & Disability 17(a). Under the Rules of Appellate Procedure, any litigant who otherwise has standing to do so may appeal an adverse judgment. See Utah R.App. P. 3-5. Rule 11(g) of the revised disciplinary rules states, Any order of public discipline may be appealed to the Supreme Court pursuant to the Utah Rules of Appellate Procedure. Under that rule, there is no different standard for standing to appeal than applies in any other civil case. Both the Bar and an attorney subject to discipline may appeal an order of discipline to this Court. [12] The Bar continues to perform an essential, although somewhat more limited, role in the enforcement of rules of attorney discipline under the revised rules, but those rules do not alter this Court's constitutional role in attorney discipline matters. Under Babilis' argument, this Court would be precluded from reviewing a number of disciplinary cases, thereby obstructing this Court in the exercise of its constitutional powers and duties. Babilis argues that this case is analogous to a criminal case and that double jeopardy prevents prosecutors from appealing final orders. The revised disciplinary rules state that disciplinary adjudications are civil proceedings, see Rule 1(c), and we see no basis for concluding otherwise. The penalties available under the Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions are not punishment for double jeopardy purposes. In re McCune, 717 P.2d 701, 707 (Utah 1986); In re Brown, 12 Cal.4th 205, 48 Cal.Rptr.2d 29, 906 P.2d 1184, 1191 (1995); see also Helvering v. Mitchell, 303 U.S. 391, 399 n. 2, 58 S.Ct. 630, 633 n. 2, 82 L.Ed. 917 (1938); State v. Arbon, 909 P.2d 1270, 1274 (Utah.Ct.App.1996). An attorney's license to practice law is contingent on compliance with professional ethical standards. A restriction on, or withdrawal of, the right to practice law as a sanction for violation of professional ethical standards is remedial in nature. Bar disciplinary proceedings are civil in nature. Their aim is to maintain the honesty, integrity and professionalism of the Bar. McCune, 717 P.2d at 707; see also Brown, 48 Cal.Rptr.2d 29, 906 P.2d at 1191. Attorney discipline therefore is neither punitive nor a criminal penalty in any sense.