Debate by Delegates Takes On Tamer Tone at State Bar’s Meeting

Annual meetings of the State Bar of California traditionally have been highlighted by debates over such topics as the legalization of marijuana, U.S. involvement in Nicaragua, or censure of politicians like U.S. Sen. Pete Wilson (D-Calif.).

This annual meeting is not traditional.

Resolutions on the floor this year run more to excusing children over 5 from certain divorce court hearings or making the home addresses of judges standing for election confidential.

Bowing to pressure from the state Legislature, which controls the Bar’s purse strings by passing or not passing an annual bill authorizing collection of mandatory dues from the state’s 102,500 lawyers, the group’s Board of Governors earlier this year restricted the “purview” of resolutions discussed by the Conference of Delegates.

The 529-delegate conference consists of representatives of various Bar associations around the state, which survive on voluntary dues. Incoming State Bar President Orville (Jack) Armstrong characterizes the group as “simply an exercise in freedom of speech.”

The delegates are regarded as leaders among the state’s lawyers and their opinions are influential with legislators and citizens, some of whom wrongly believe that the delegates make policy for the State Bar.

But the group’s annual meeting is financed out of the State Bar budget. So the Board of Governors, which actually is the policy-making group, thought it best to curb the delegates’ speech a little to mollify the Legislature and appellate courts, which have forbidden the Bar to use its funds from mandatory dues for any political projects.

Censored Resolutions

In cooperation, the Conference’s Executive Committee this year censored six proposed resolutions that would have been commonplace in previous years: resolutions to force state universities and colleges to disclose sources of grants from foreign nations; enhance confidentiality in AIDS testing; free Nelson Mandela and other South African political prisoners; prohibit deportation of Salvadoran and Guatemalan refugees; include sex education in schools even without parental consent, and censure U.S. Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese III for his stands on constitutional rights.

All but the college grant disclosure measure were appealed, permitting the full Conference of Delegates to decide whether they were beyond purview or appropriate for floor discussion.

The conference was also asked Sunday to consider a special resolution to repeal the Board of Governors’ restrictions.

Despite an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the restrictions, delegates hammered out a compromise that conceded the need for limitations but allows authors more leeway to protest adverse rulings.

The delegates voted 304 to 118 to take up the AIDS measure and 318 to 111 to discuss the sex education item later in the meeting, but rejected by voice vote the other three proposed resolutions as beyond purview.