Application of the Montana Bar Association

368 P.2d 158, 140 Mont. 101, 1962 Mont. LEXIS 51
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 19, 1962
Docket10234
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 368 P.2d 158 (Application of the Montana Bar Association) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Application of the Montana Bar Association, 368 P.2d 158, 140 Mont. 101, 1962 Mont. LEXIS 51 (Mo. 1962).

Opinions

PER CURIAM.

Application was made to this court by the petition of the officers of the Montana Bar Association to order the unification and integration of the Bar of the state. The prayer of the petition was that “the Bar of the State of Montana be inte[102]*102grated and unified in an appropriate manner after due consideration of the problems relative thereto by [this court], and further that this Court issue an order: (1) appointing a time and place for hearing this petition with respect only to the preliminary question as to whether or not the Court’s inherent power to unify and integrate the Bar shall be exercised at this time, and providing1 for proper notice of such hearing; and (2) providing further that consideration of all other issues raised by this petition, including questions regarding the structural form of the proposed integrated Bar organization and the definition of the rights, duties, and conditions of membership therein, be deferred until such preliminary questions shall have been determined.”

This court entertained the petition by setting a time and place for the hearing and gave notice by mailing to all licensed members of the Bar from the Clerk’s annual license records a copy of the order. On the date set, proponents and opponents were heard at length. Numerous petitions, letters, and informal expressions of opinions were received. Pending the hearing mentioned, the Chief Justice conducted an informal postcard poll of active practicing attorneys within the state. The poll was not all-inclusive but was a rather large sampling of opinion.

The postcard poll contained three propositions: For Integration, Against Integration, Don’t Care. The responses were anonymous in part and came back in a wide variety of expressions in addition to the three questions asked. Bight hundred twenty-five cards were mailed. Of the 825 cards mailed, 595 were responded to; 288 voted for, 280 against, 27 expressed “Don’t Care”, 280 cards were not returned. From this no definite conclusion can be made, but these observations seem appropriate: About one-third of the lawyers are against unification, about one-third for unification, and about one-third do not care. From the expressions added to the postcards and from letters received concerning the poll, one obvious conclusion is that a large seg[103]*103ment of our Bar do not know or understand just what unification and integration of a Bar entails or contemplates.

Also, it is apparent that many of those who voted against integration of the Bar did so because the Bar Association’s petition did not include a plan which would indicate the structure of the proposed organization, the areas of control, the proposed fees to be levied, or any other matters. In other words as one attorney expressed it, “I don’t feel like buying a pig in a poke”.

The same matter has been before this court in 1938, In re Unification of the Montana Bar Ass’n, 107 Mont. 559, 87 P.2d 172; and in 1946 In re Unification of Bar of this Court, 119 Mont. 494, 175 P.2d 773.

In 1938, the court made two conclusions: (1) that this court has the power and authority to adopt, promulgate, and enforce all necessary, proper and appropriate rules for its own government and for the admission and regulation of attorneys at law; (2) that the situation in Montana did not demand a change and therefore the petition was denied. One justice dissented vigorously to the second conclusion stating that in his opinion the integrity of the Bar was at stake and that the rapid growth of administrative boards and bodies had been the result of court failures, suggesting that an integrated Bar would strengthen the judicial branch of government and improve the administration of justice.

In 1947, this court again declined to order integration of the Bar. In that year the court at 495 of 119 Mont., at 773 of 175 P.2d said: “some members of this court entertain the opinion that the integration or unification of the attorneys at law of the state into a compulsory, all-inclusive organization must come through legislative and not through judicial action, while other members hold to the view that, assuming authority in this court to provide for integration or unification of the bar, the existing situation does not require or justify the creation of a compulsory and all-inclusive association * *

[104]*104In addition to other attempts to integrate through this court, several attempts have been made through the legislature without success, the last one coming to our attention having been in 1943.

In Montana, section 93-2010, R.C.M.1947, imposes an annual license tax of $10.00 per year. This amount is collected by the Clerk of the Supreme Court. The legislature has provided various statutes governing admission of attorneys and in section 93-2007, R.C.M.1947, provided:

“Supreme Court May Establish Bules. The supreme court may establish rules for the admission of attorneys and counselors not inconsistent with this chapter.”

The court has since its inception exercised its power over the practice of law. Just as this court at p. 562 of 107 Mont., at 173 of 87 P.2d observed in 1938, “This court * *' * has the power and authority to adopt, promulgate and enforce all necessary, proper and appropriate rules for its own government and for the admission and regulation of attorneys at law.” The authority for this expression is an incident of the judicial power derived under the Constitution, Art. VIII, and Chapter 20 of Title 93, of the Revised Codes of Montana, 1947. We see no point in discussing “inherent power” or “implied power” of the court to control its own operation. This has been firmly settled. For eases in which this court has referred to the power inherent or implied see Territory v. Murray, 7 Mont. 251, 257, 15 P. 145; State ex rel. Boston & Montana Consol., etc. v. Clancy, Judge, 30 Mont. 193, 200, 76 P. 10; In re Mettler, 50 Mont. 299, 302, 146 P. 747; State ex rel. Metcalf v. District Court, 52 Mont. 46, 48, 155 P. 278, L.R.A.1916F, 132; State ex rel. Rankin v. District Court, 58 Mont. 276, 288, 191 P. 772; State ex rel. Hurley v. District Court, 76 Mont. 222, 232, 246 P. 250; State ex rel. Burns v. District Court, 83 Mont. 200, 207, 271 P. 439; State ex rel. Cheadle v. District Court, 92 Mont. 94, 99, 10 P.2d 586; Finlen v. Heinze, 27 Mont. 107, 118, 69 P. 829, 70 P. 517; State ex rel. Whiteside v. First Judicial [105]*105District Court, 24 Mont. 539, 558, 63 P. 395; State ex rel. Kennedy v. District Court, 121 Mont. 320, 327, 194 P.2d 256, 2 A.L.R.2d 1050; In re Hansen, 101 Mont. 490, 501, 54 P.2d 882; State ex rel. Freebourn v. Merchants ’ Credit Service, Inc., 104 Mont. 76, 94, 66 P.2d 337; Bullard v. Zimmerman, 82 Mont. 434, 452, 268 P. 512; McDonald v. McDonald, 124 Mont. 26, 32, 218 P.2d 929, 15 A.L.R. 2d 1260; State ex rel. La Point v. District Court, 69 Mont. 29, 37, 220 P. 88; State ex rel. Bennett v.

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Bluebook (online)
368 P.2d 158, 140 Mont. 101, 1962 Mont. LEXIS 51, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/application-of-the-montana-bar-association-mont-1962.