1. Powers the Bar Claims 2. Actual Powers: The Primary Enabling Statute
3. Actual Powers: Article One
Okay, let's move on to Article Two of Chapter 39 (Attorneys) of Title 54.1 (Professions and Occupations). The Article is specifically named "Bar Organization and Government." This is a misnomer, because much of this Article is actually laying out powers and duties of the Virginia Supreme Court - starting with the very first statute. After the second statute creates the Bar, the remaining statutes are a mishmash of duties and powers for both entities.
This Article starts with an enabling statute for the Supreme Court of Virginia giving it the power to set rules and regulations pertaining to lawyers and legal practice. § 54.1-3909. Then it goes on to create the State Bar and set the lesser parameters within which it can act. § 54.1-3910 (the previously explored primary enabling statute). After that are the various and sundry other statutes and any powers/duties they may establish.
§ 54.1-3910.1 creates by reference both the Disciplinary Board and the Clerk of the Disciplinary System. The difficulty here is that it doesn't specifically place either of them in the Bar. The general inference by the name of the Chapter would be that they are included, but the very first statute in this Article gives the disciplinary power to the Supreme Court not the Bar. Remember, the initial enabling statute for the Bar limits the Bar to "investigating and reporting violations of rules and regulations." Thus, as the statutes have enabled so far, the place these should both be is under the Supreme Court.
[Reality check. They are both (Board; Clerk) under the Bar. Mayhap there is a statute later enabling this. And before anybody says "but Supreme Court Rule X says . . .", a rule can interpret but not wholly ignore, bypass, or expand beyond an enabling statute. Unless a later statue enables, the limitation in the primary enabling statute of the Bar is clear and unambiguous.]
Anyway, this statute enables the two parties to register penalties with a circuit court that have been assessed pursuant to a Supreme Court Rule (problematic, but outside the scope of what we're covering here).
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§ 54.1-3911 enables and requires the Bar to turn over any investigatory evidence it has of ethics violations for attorneys whom the General Assembly is considering for a judgeship to the General Assembly upon request. By inference, it creates a "record of any previous disciplinary action taken against [attorneys]" which must be maintained.
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§ 54.1-3912 enables the Supreme Court to tax up to $250 against every member of the Bar (by legal mandate all attorneys in Virginia) and to spend the money to enact Article 2 (§§ 54.1-3909 thru 54.1-3918).
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§ 54.1-3913 enables "an authorized officer of the Virginia State Bar" to withdraw the money taxed above so it can be spent.
[Note: Here is where a Supreme Court Rule could clarify who the "authorized officer" is. To do so by naming an officer already enabled to exist by statute would not be ignoring, bypassing, or expanding beyond the enabling statute. It would be clarifying within the statute's mandate.]
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§ 54.1-3913.1 creates by reference [the statute implies by recognition] a Client's Protection Fund in the Bar. It also creates by reference the Virginia State Bar's Administration and Finance Account. The only listed power of this account is to transfer money to the Client's Protection Fund.
Beyond that, it (for now) gives the Supreme Court the power to tax each member of the Bar (by legal mandate all attorneys in Virginia) up to $25 for the Client's Protection Fund.
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Okay for the moment we're going to pause here. The next few statutes should get us to a few with a little more meat to them.
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