1975, October, Pg. 1921. Serambled Eggs at the Palmer House or the ABA State Who?.

• Author: by William P. Canwell

4 Colo.Law. 1921

Colorado Lawyer

1975.

1975, October, Pg. 1921.

Serambled Eggs at the Palmer House or the ABA State Who?

1921Vol. 4, No. 10, Pg. 1921Serambled Eggs at the Palmer House or the ABA State Who?by William P. Canwell

One of the more profound enigmas surrounding the American Bar Association is the generally low level of awareness of the role and function of the "state delegates." Since a very significant function within the Association is carried out and controlled by the 52 state delegates,(fn1) I find this regrettable. Consequently, for the majority(fn2) of my constituency these words are offered to strip away a bit of the mystique surrounding the office.

Who Sits in the House of Delegates?

There are six clear (but eight actual) identifiable classes of delegates in the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association.

State Delegates. Since this whole article deals with this group, more about them appears throughout the text.

State Bar and Local Bar Association Delegates.(fn3) Each state bar association is entitled to at least one delegate who is the state bar delegate from that state. If the state has a lawyer population of 2,000, the authorization is increased to provide an additional delegate for each 1,250 lawyers up to a total of four delegates. There are further provisions for states with more than 7,000 lawyers which apply to such states as New York, Illinois and California. It is interesting to note that although the actual lawyer population establishes the quota, the positions are assigned to the state bar associations.

State bar associations are permitted to allocate any one of the delegates for which they are eligible to a local bar association. Typically, this gives large city associations a delegate.

Colorado currently has three delegates sitting under the state and local bar classification. Representing the Colorado Bar Association are Garrett Fonda and Justice William H. Erickson, whose terms expire in 1976. The late David Brofman represented the Denver Bar Association until his recent death, and an interim delegate will be appointed to complete his term, which expires in 1967. William H. Gaunt served as state bar delegate with great distinction from 1963 to 1974. At such time as Colorado's new registration procedures show that there are 5,750 lawyers "in" Colorado, a fourth delegate will be authorized in this class from Colorado. A fifth delegate will be authorized if the Colorado lawyer population ever exceeds 7,000. Because the positions are allocated to the Colorado Bar Association, it is conceivable that a large unrepresented group---the nonmembers of the CBA---could exist if the number of all admitted lawyers compared to the number of CBA members should be high.

The term of office of a state or local bar association delegate is two years. Election procedures are a matter of local option. The state bar delegates from the Colorado Bar Association are appointed by the president of that association with the advice and consent of its executive council. The delegate from the Denver Bar Association

1922is appointed by its president with the advice and consent of its executive committee. The Colorado Bar Association bylaws were recently amended to limit any particular individual to three full terms as state bar delegate for that association.(fn4) No such limitation has been enacted by the Denver Bar Association.

Assembly Delegates. The lawyers registered at an annual meeting of the Association constitute the Assembly.(fn5) Each year at the annual meeting the Assembly elects five assembly delegates who serve for three years. These elections are highly competitive and are held under tightly structured and intricate procedures. Biographical information on each candidate is publicized in an attractive booklet included in the registration materials and supporters of particular candidates are frequently very active in mail campaigns during the several months before an annual meeting. Under rules of the Board of Governors no electioneering at or near the polling place is permitted, distribution of campaign material in the convention city is disapproved and no receptions for candidates may be held during the annual meeting. A computerized ballot system is used, and 15 nominees were on the ballot in Montreal for the 1975 annual meeting in August,(fn6) from which five were elected.

This class thus comprises a total of 15 lawyers elected by a specialized form of popular vote. Statistics disclosed at the Montreal meeting in August 1975 indicated that well under half of those registering at recent meetings even bothered to cast a vote. The ABA membership now totals 200,000, and the assembly delegates are elected by percentages of no more than 2 to 4 percent at most.

Section Delegates. Each section of the Association is entitled to one delegate.(fn7) The Young Lawyers Section is entitled to two additional delegates for a total of three. The section delegates serve for two years and are elected by their sections in accordance with their bylaws. Recent ABA actions have, with generally successful results, sought to make section election procedures more democratic. For the most part this has consisted of advance notice of nominations, including the section delegate, accompanied by opportunities to propose counter-slates for election at the meeting.

Division Delegates. There are two "divisions" in the Association: the Law Student Division and the Judicial Administration Division. The Law Student Division is entitled to two elected delegates each year who serve one-year terms.(fn8)

The Judicial Administration Division is...