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[branford]

67. The Florida Bar Associate Cannot Indict Anyone

The Florida Bar Association only has jurisdiction over the professional conduct of lawyers in Florida. As with any professional disciplinary body, they will investigate complaints, and if substantial evidence is found that an attorney has breached the Florida Rules of Professional Conduct, they will conduct a disciplinary hearing. If the complaint is sustained, the most severe sanction that they may impose is the disbarment of the attorney, subject to appeal. The entire process is considered a civil action, not criminal. While disbarment is usually the result of a criminal conviction, disbarment itself is neither a criminal conviction nor conclusive evidence of criminal conduct.

If the Florida Bar Association discovers what they believe to be criminal conduct by a Florida attorney, they will turn over the evidence to the local district or state attorney for state crimes, or the local United States Attorney for federal crimes. The decision to seek a criminal indictment is solely within the discretion of the district, state or US attorney. Again, the Florida Bar Association has no criminal charging authority or jurisdiction.

The RICO complaint you reference is not a criminal matter. The RICO statute provides for both civil and criminal remedies. For your reference, in Florida, unless you see the People of the State of Florida or the United States as a party, the matter is only civil in nature. The docket number also indicates whether a matter is civil or criminal.

Also note that a complaint, regardless of whether it is civil or criminal, does NOT constitute evidence in any federal, state or local jurisdiction in the United States. It is simply a series of allegations that a civil plaintiff or the State, if criminal, seeks to prove through admissible evidence at trial. Filing a complaint is a very long way, legally, from the imposition of civil or criminal liability or penalties. Similarly, newspaper editorials and other opinions, no matter how prominent the author, are not considered evidence.