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Contact: Contact Kristin Weber at 202/887-8255, kweber@halt.org
Washington, DC—Filing comments with the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday, consumer watchdog group HALT asked the court's Professional Responsibility Rules Committee to throw out a confidentiality rule that state disciplinary officials have used to unconstitutionally "gag" consumers who file grievances against their lawyers. HALT, the nation's oldest and largest legal reform organization, recommended that the Committee issue clear guidance that grievants are permitted to speak freely about complaints they have filed against lawyers.
"It's appalling that a state with such a longstanding tradition of openness and progressiveness continues to support an unconstitutional gag rule that muzzles New Jersey citizens from telling anyone that they have filed a grievance against an attorney," stated HALT Associate Counsel Suzanne Mishkin. "Perhaps more important, the rule, as it's being applied, prevents the New Jersey public from evaluating whether the state attorney discipline body is taking client complaints seriously, responding promptly and meting out discipline where appropriate."
The confidentiality rule before the Committee appears to only require members of the Office of Attorney Ethics to keep disciplinary matters confidential, but New Jersey's disciplinary authority has applied the rule to grievants and barred victimized consumers from speaking publicly-even to family or friends. HALT's comments reveal that, if anything, disciplinary officials actually have wider latitude than consumers to discuss information about complaints.
According to HALT, the proposed rule violates free speech rights and fosters a system already plagued by secrecy and unfairness. If New Jersey followed HALT's recommendation to allow citizens to disclose information about disciplinary complaints, it would join several other states, including Tennessee, Florida and New Hampshire, that have recently abandoned gag rules in the interest of protecting free speech and defending the rights of legal consumers.
Founded in 1978, HALT—An Organization of Americans for Legal Reform is a non-partisan, non-profit public interest organization. HALT pursues an aggressive education and advocacy program that challenges the legal establishment to increase accountability, improve access and reduce costs in the civil justice system.
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