Essays in Legal Ethics (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE ADVOCATE AND THE COURTS Generally considered?The summary jurisdiction of courts? Methods of summary discipline?Nature of disciplinary power?Effect of discipline on the legal rights of the citi. zen?Grounds for discipline?Discipline for unofficial misconduct?Misconduct without discipline. 61. Generally considered. The legal profession occupies, in many respects, an unique position among the callings and occupations of men. While its general features bear some similitude to the other learned professions it differs from them in many important particulars. The lawyer, like the physician, serves the public; the one as an assistant in the protection and preservation of rights, the other in the protection and preservation of health; but here the parallel ends. The lawyer not only serves the public?that is, the individuals who compose the body politic?but he also serves the body politic itself?the state, and for this purpose necessarily assumes a dual relation, which distinguishes his profession from all others. He not only practices in the courts but is himself an integral part of the judicial machinery, and as such is subject to a disciplinary power from which the members of other professions are exempt. He enjoys certain exclusive privileges and is under certain special obligations and subject to certain responsibilities. For an abuse of his privileges, as well as for derelictions of professional duty, lie may be compelled to account, not only at the bar of public opinion but also of the court that admitted him to practice. In addition to the punishments inflicted by society he must also bear the marks of sovereign displeasure, and, in this respect, the code of professional ethics resembles a code of law. 62. Summary jurisdiction of courts. The summary jur...