State Bar News
| Publication year | 1997 |
| Pages | 23 |
| Citation | Vol. 10 No. 9 Pg. 23 |
Commission Highlights
During its Annual Meeting of July 2, 1997, held in Sun Valley, Idaho, the Board of Bar Commissioners received the following reports and took the actions indicated.
1. Steve Kaufman welcomed and reviewed the schedule of events for the 1997 Annual Meeting and Convention.
2. Steve Kaufman reported on the results of the president-elect retention election noting that James C. Jenkins has been retained as president-elect for the 1997-98 year.
3. John Baldwin reviewed the petition filed with the Supreme Court objecting to the proposed courts complex contribution.
4. The Board approved the minutes of the May 30, 1997 meeting.
5. The Board approved Ethics Opinion No. 97-08 as proposed by the Ethics Advisory Opinion Committee.
6. Dennis Haslam reported on the Access I to Justice Task Force.
7. James B. Lee discussed three ABA-related items.
8. The Board approved the July 1997 bar examination applicants.
9. Charlotte Miller reviewed the proposed list of Committee Chairs.
10. Craig Snyder gave an introduction to the newly elected Fourth Division Commissioner, Randy Kester. Kaufman indicated that Randy Kester along with Dave Nuffer, Fran Wikstrom and Charles R. Brown, who were reelected, would be sworn in during the General Session at the Annual Meeting.
11. The Board approved the appointment of the following representatives as ex officio members of the Bar Commission for the 1997-98 year: The ABA Delegate, the State Bar Delegate to the ABA, the Dean of the University of Utah College of Law, the Dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU, the president of the Young Lawyers Division, the Minority Bar Association representative, the Women Lawyers of Utah representative, the Judicial Council Liaison, and the Legal Assistants Division representative.
During its regular meeting on July 28, 1997, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Board of Bar Commissioners received the following reports and took the actions indicated.
1. Miller distributed a letter drafted by Wikstrom to Chief Justice Zimmerman regarding the Bar Commission's position on amendments to Rule 3-414 of the Cod of Judicial Administration relating to security in the court house. Jenkins noted that the Judicial Council has already adopted the rule and that there will be a 60-day public comment period. The Board voted to send the letter as drafted to Chief Justice Zimmerman.
2. Miller reported that the October 24 meeting will be held in Cedar City, The April 24 meeting in Vernal, and the May 29 meeting in Park City.
3. The Board approved Ethics Advisory Opinion No. 97-09.
4. Fee Arbitration Chair G. Steven Sullivan appeared to review proposed modifications to the Fee Arbitration rules. He indicated that most of the committee's recommendations are based on the ABA rules, and he reviewed and explained all the changes, paragraph by paragraph.
5. John Baldwin summarized the background and recommendations regarding appointments to the Ethics & Discipline Hearing Panels. The Board approved the recommendations and approved for-warding the names to the Supreme Court.
6. The Board reviewed the applicants to the State Sentencing Commission and voted to appoint Fred Metos to fill the unexpired term of Rod Snow.
7. Dave Nuffer gave a presentation on ideas and goals for the future of the Bar's Web site and indicated he would be giving a similar report at the ABA annual meeting next month.
A full text of minutes of these and other meetings of the Bar Commission is available for inspection at the office of the Executive Director.
Chapter 7 Filing Fee Waiver Program Discontinued at the Close of Business on September 30,1997
On October 27, 1993, the Congress enacted legislation requiring the Judicial Conference of the United States to implement a three-year pilot program to study the effect of waiving the filing fee for eligible chapter 7 debtors. The six districts selected to participate in the program were the Southern District of Illinois, the District of Montana, the Eastern District of New York, The Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the Western District of Tennessee, and the District of Utah.
The pilot filing fee waiver program commenced on October 1, 1994 and will be discontinued at the close of business of September 30, 1997. During the pilot period, individuals who were unable to pay the chapter 7 filing fee either in full when filing the petition or in installments could apply to the court for waiver of the fee. After September 30, 1997, all individuals filing chapter 7 bankruptcy must either pay the $175 filing fee in full when filing the petition or file an application to pay the fee in installments.
The Judicial Conference of the United States is to submit a report describing the costs and benefits of the program to Congress no later than March 31, 1998. This information will allow the Congress to consider whether the program should be implemented nationwide.
DISCIPLINE CORNER
SUSPENSION
On October 2, 1997, the Honorable Boyd Bunnell, specially assigned and sitting in the Fourth District Court, entered an Order of Suspension suspending D. John Musselman from the practice of law. The Order was based on a stipulation between Musselman and the Office of Attorney Discipline.
Musselman stipulated to violations of Rules 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4 (Communication), and 8.4(c) (Misconduct) in his representation of three clients. Mussleman also stipulated to violations of Rules 1.1 (Competence), 1.2 (Scope of Representation), 1.3 (Diligence), 1.4 (Communication), and 1.5 (Fees) in the representation of other clients.
Musselman stipulated to the existence of the following aggravating factors:
(a) prior record of discipline;
(b) a pattern of misconduct;
(c) multiple...
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