Posted by Anthony J. Fejfar BA, JD, MBA, Phd on 1/10/12

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In the Old American Bar Association (ABA) Model Code of
Professional Responsibility there is Canon 9 which makes it
a Disciplinary Violation for the Lawyer to engage in an
"Appearance of Impropriety." However, upon reflection, it
is clear that the the notion of an Appearance of Impropriety
is Unconstitutionally Vague and Over Broad, and also
violates Substantive Due Process and 42 United States Code,
Section 1983. Following the Declaration of Independence,
every Lawyer has an inherent, natural right of Liberty,
which can be proven with Reason. As the United States
Supreme Court has stated, as early as Lochner vs. New York,
198 U.S. 45 (1905), that each person has an inherent
individual right of Liberty, which the State can only
interfere with where the State law or conduct proposed is
reasonable, and rationally related to a legitimate state
interest. The holding of the United States Supreme Court in
Lochner, which recognizes that everyone has a Natural Right
of Liberty, follows Magna Charta (1215), and Grotius (1625),
and The Declaration of Independence (1776), and The
Pennsylvania Constitution (1776), and The Maryland
Constitution (1776). Now, the idea of an Appearance of
Impropriety as a legal standard is absolutely absurd. Such
a standard could be used to say that a lawyer has to wear a
certain type of tie in court, or can only date a person of
the same ethnic or racial background, or cannot take pro
bono work to represent certain religious or ethic groups,
etc., all of which involve reasonable conduct on the part of
the attorney, and therefore do not meet the requirement that
the rule, enforced by the State, or State Bar, or State
Judiciary, must be itself reasonable and rationally related
to a legitimate state interest. Canon 9 is unconstitutional
and must be repealed in order for the Bar Committees
enforcing them to avoid Section 1983 tort and criminal liablity.

www.neothomism.com

Law and Jurisprudence-Legal Ethics, 1/10/12, by Anthony J. Fejfar BA, JD, MBA, Phd.

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