Washington, DC -- HALT, a national consumer advocacy organization, that concentrates on legal reform, slammed Governor Gray Davis's signing of the California Bar Dues Bill on September 8. This legislation changes the current structure of the Review Department of the State Bar Court of one Lay Judge and one Review Department Judge, to having two Review Department Judges, totally eliminating the Lay Judge position. The Review Department hears appeals of state bar disciplinary cases.

"At a time when the civil justice system is priced out of reach and inaccessible to many Americans, eliminating public representation on this key board will only make a bad situation even worse", stated HALT Executive Director James C. Turner. By removing the lay judge, the public is no longer hearing the case of attorney discipline: instead, attorneys are listening to attorneys appeal their cases.

Other experts in the civil justice field agree. Judge H. Kenneth Norian of Los Angeles stated, "What concerns me is that there will be no public representation on a discipline board, which contravenes every other board in California, I believe. The legislature by passing this amendment seems to be going contrary to the express will of the public. It's harmful to both the legal profession and the public."

Richard Fellmeth, executive director of the San Diego-based Center for Public Interest Law, stated in a letter to California legislator John Burton, "[removing the public member] would be antithetical to the consumer consciousness. The three-judge panels in the code systems of continental Europe, indeed even in Red China, commonly include one Acitizen among the three. If there is a court appropriate for such a nonprofession check, this is it."

HALT advocates through their Lawyer Accountability Project for consumer protection improvements in the disciplinary system and to encourage that attorneys are brought under consumer protection statutes. The project is designed to improve systems that protect consumers from fraudulent attorneys. Of the more than 100,000 complaints filed against attorneys each year, less than three thousand result in formal sanctioning or disbarment under the secret, lawyer-controlled disciplinary system. HALT has been at the forefront in fights to improve systems that protect consumers from fraudulent attorneys. HALT will hold a conference on November 5, 1999 focusing on lawyer discipline at Hastings College of Law in San Francisco.

Founded in 1978, HALT-- An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is the largest national consumer legal reform group in the United States with over 50,000 members. HALT pursues a bold education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to improve access and reduce costs in the civil justice system. HALT is known for its extensive collection of self-help law books, currently including over 15 titles and its belief to hold the legal profession accountable.