Ex-President opts to exit, not fight disbarment in high court

WASHINGTON, DC/ATLANTA: Former President Bill Clinton today resigned from the U.S. Supreme Court bar on the final day in which the high court's action allowed for defense against the disbarment measure issued in early October.

The Southeastern Legal Foundation, which filed the first formal complaint with the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on attorney ethics in 1998, hailed the Clinton decision as "the inevitable conclusion for any attorney who admits to lying under oath and obstructing justice."

"Mr. Clinton signed a disciplinary order issued by Independent Counsel Robert Ray's office on January 19, 2001, acknowledging his egregious professional misconduct and surrendering his law license for an unprecedented five years," said Phil Kent, SLF President. "Today's decision by Mr. Clinton ensures his place in legal infamy as the only sitting U.S. President to face disbarment charges, and only the second U.S. President to lose his law license."

Kent pointed out that Richard M. Nixon lost his law license after he left office. "When you can't practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court, that makes rehabilitation in any jurisdiction a practical impossibility."

"More importantly, the system of accountability in our judiciary branch has been upheld," said Kent. "We certainly feel vindicated by the action of the high court and Mr. Clinton's ultimate response to it."

In 1998, SLF filed a formal complaint with the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Professional Conduct. After months of inaction, SLF won a direct action order from the Arkansas Supreme Court compelling the committee to move forward. The committee voted to prosecute for disbarment. Clinton surredered his law license earlier this year in response in an unprecedented five-year suspension, "which is tantamount to disbarment."

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