As we pledged, Citizens for Limited Taxation is
following through with its complaint to the Board of Bar Overseers
concerning the lawyer-legislators who violated their oaths to uphold
the Constitution when they refused to vote on the initiative
petition for a constitutional amendment on health care.
Our full complaint, with all attachments; the
immediate rejection by the Office of the Bar Counsel; and our appeal
to a member of the Board of Bar Overseers as our recourse are
available on our website HERE.
The appeal, which we returned today by certified
mail, begins:
Office of Bar Counsel
Review Department
99 High Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02110
January 22, 2007
Thank you for responding so very promptly to our
concern about the state Constitution. I have received your January
17 letter acknowledging receipt of our complaint packet, and your
January 18 letter denying our claim.
I would like someone to spend a little more time
considering our concern about legislative lawyers’ violation of
their oaths of office and its effect on respect for the Supreme
Judicial Court and the state Constitution, so I am requesting an
independent review by a member of the Board of Bar Overseers of this
decision.
Many citizens must be surprised to learn that "a
legislator who happens to be a lawyer is not subject to the rules of
professional conduct," and that the governor-elect (at the time he
exhorted the Legislature to violate the Constitution) is permitted
to break his oath as an attorney to uphold the Constitution, not to
mention the similar oath he intended to take when sworn in as our
next governor.
Therefore I would appreciate a clarification for
those who deplore the unfortunate refusal of the Legislature to vote
on an initiative petition for a constitutional amendment.
In seeking this clarification, I hope that the
following questions can and will be answered by the review Board
member . . .
(continuation of the full letter is available
on our website)