[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 855 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 855

    To clarify the applicable standards of professional conduct for 
           attorneys for the Government, and other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 21, 1999

   Mr. Leahy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To clarify the applicable standards of professional conduct for 
           attorneys for the Government, and other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION. 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Professional Standards for 
Government Attorneys Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR ATTORNEYS FOR THE GOVERNMENT.

    (a) In General.--Section 530B of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 530B. Professional standards for attorneys for the Government
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section--
            ``(1) the term `attorney for the Government' means any 
        attorney described in section 77.2 of part 77 of title 28 of 
        the Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 
        enactment of the Professional Standards for Government 
        Attorneys Act of 1999) and includes any independent counsel, or 
        employee of such a counsel, appointed under chapter 40;
            ``(2) the term `court' means any Federal, State, or local 
        court or other adjudicatory body, including an administrative 
        board or tribunal; and
            ``(3) the term `State' means a State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or 
        possession of the United States.
    ``(b) Choice of Law.--Subject to any uniform national rule 
prescribed by the Supreme Court under chapter 131, the standards of 
professional conduct governing an attorney for the Government shall 
be--
            ``(1) with respect to conduct in connection with a 
        proceeding in or before a court, the standards established by 
        the rules and decisions of that court;
            ``(2) with respect to conduct in connection with a pending 
        or contemplated grand jury proceeding, the standards 
        established by the rules and decisions of the court under whose 
        authority the grand jury was impanelled;
            ``(3) with respect to all other conduct--
                    ``(A) the standards established by the rules and 
                decisions of the State in which the attorney is 
                licensed to practice; or
                    ``(B) if the attorney is licensed to practice in 
                more than 1 State--
                            ``(i) the standards established by the 
                        rules and decisions of the licensing State in 
                        which the attorney principally practices; or
                            ``(ii) if the conduct has a predominant 
                        effect in another State in which the attorney 
                        is licensed to practice, the standards 
                        established by the rules and decisions of the 
                        licensing State so affected.
    ``(c) Uniform National Rule.--(1) In order to encourage the Supreme 
Court to prescribe, under chapter 131, a uniform national rule 
governing attorneys for the Government with respect to communications 
with represented persons and parties, not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of the Professional Standards for Government 
Attorneys Act of 1999, the Judicial Conference of the United States 
shall submit to the Chief Justice of the United States a report, which 
shall include recommendations with respect to amending the Federal 
Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure to provide for such a uniform 
national rule.
    ``(2) In developing the recommendations included in the report 
under paragraph (1), the Judicial Conference of the United States shall 
take into consideration, as appropriate--
            ``(A) the needs and circumstances of multiforum and 
        multijurisdictional litigation;
            ``(B) the special needs and interests of the United States 
        in investigating and prosecuting violations of Federal criminal 
        and civil law; and
            ``(C) practices that are approved under Federal statutory 
        or case law or that are otherwise consistent with traditional 
        Federal law enforcement techniques.
    ``(d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be 
construed to abridge, enlarge, or modify the power of the Supreme Court 
or of any court established by an Act of Congress, under chapter 131 or 
any other provision of law, to prescribe standards of professional 
conduct for attorneys practicing in and before the Federal courts, 
including attorneys for the Government.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 
31 of title 28, United States Code, is amended, in the item relating to 
section 530B, by striking ``Ethical'' and inserting ``Professional''.
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