Page images
PDF
EPUB

BY-LAWS.

MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION.

I. The program and order of exercises at the annual meeting of the Association shall be those prescribed by the Executive Committee and notified to the members at least thirty days before the meeting.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

II. Where the report of a committee has been printed, it shall not be read at a meeting of the Association, but if the report recommends action by the Association, the recommendations shall be set forth at the beginning of the report, and the chairman of the committee may state briefly to the meeting their substance and the reasons for them.

RESOLUTIONS-PROCEDURE.

III. No person shall speak more than ten minutes at a time or more than twice on one subject, except as indicated on the formal program prepared by the Executive Committee.

Every resolution shall be in writing and unless of a formal character or presented by a committee, shall be referred by the Chair on presentation, without debate, to an appropriate committee for consideration and report. No resolution which is neither favorably reported by a committee nor adopted by the Association, shall be published in the proceedings of the meetings.

No legislation shall be recommended or approved by the Association unless there has been a report of a committee thereon, and unless such legislation be approved by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Association present.

No resolution complimentary to an officer or member for any service performed, paper read or address delivered shall be considered by the Association.

NON-MEMBERS: PRIVILEGES OF FLOOR.

IV. Members of the Bar of any foreign country or of any state who are not members of the Association may be admitted to the privileges of the floor at any meeting of the Association.

(127)

BOOKS AND PAPERS OF THE ASSOCIATION.

V. All papers, addresses and reports read before the Association or submitted to it, shall be lodged with the Secretary and become the property of the Association, and shall not be published unless by the express direction of the Executive Committee. Committee reports which have been printed in full in the JOURNAL shall not be printed again in the annual volume of the Association, but there may be printed therein a brief epitome or condensed summary of such a report which may be prepared by the chairman of the committee making the report.

Extra copies, not exceeding one hundred in number, of any report, address or paper read before the Association may be printed by the direction of the Executive Committee for the use of the author.

The Executive Committee shall arrange through the Smithsonian Institution, or otherwise, a system of exchanges by which the Transactions can be exchanged annually for those of Associations in foreign countries interested in jurisprudence or governmental affairs; and the Secretary shall exchange the Transactions for those of the State and Local Bar Associations. All books thus acquired shall be bound and, provided the New York City Bar Association consents thereto, shall be deposited in the charge of that Association, subject to the call of this Association, if it ever desires to withdraw or consult them.

The Secretary shall send one copy of the Annual Report to the President of the United States, to the Chief Justice of the United States, to each of the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, to the Library of the State Department, and of the Department of Justice thereof, to the Governor, to the Chief Judge or the Chief Justice of the court of last resort of each state, to the State Librarian thereof, to all public law libraries, to college libraries, to other principal libraries in the United States, and to such other persons or bodies as the Executive Committee may direct.

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES.

VI. The terms of office of all officers elected at any annual meeting shall commence at the adjournment of such meeting, except the members of the General Council, whose term of office

shall commence immediately upon their election. Vacancies in any office, except the General Council, occurring between the annual meetings shall be filled by the Executive Committee; and such interim vacancies in the General Council shall be filled by the Local Council of the state.

VII. The President shall appoint all committees, including special committees, and shall announce the appointments to the Secretary, who shall give notice to the persons appointed.

There shall be appointed annually by the President a committee to be known as the Reception Committee, whose duty it shall be to attend immediately before and at the opening of the first day's session of the meeting to receive members and delegates and introduce them to each other.

The Committee on Professional Ethics and Grievances shall communicate to the Association such information as it may collect concerning the activities of State and Local Bar Associations in respect to the ethics of the profession and grievances against members of the Bar, and it may from time to time make recommendations on the subject to the Association.

VIII. The Treasurer's report shall be examined and audited annually before its presentation to the Association, by a licensed public accountant designated by the President.

IX. The Gene.al Council and all standing committees shall meet at the time and place of the annual meeting at such hours as their respective chairmen shall appoint.

The Secretary of the Association shall be the Secretary of the General Council.

X. Special meetings of any committee shall be held at such times and places as the Chairman thereof may appoint. Reasonable notice shall be mailed by him to each member.

The traveling and other necessary expenses incurred by any committee, standing or special, for meetings of such committee or otherwise, during the interval between the annual meetings of the Association, shall be paid by the Treasurer out of such appropriation as the Executive Committee shall have made on application in each case in advance of its expenditure. Such application shall be made in writing by the chairman of each committee thirty days before the mid-winter meeting of the Executive Committee and upon a specific budget.

All committees may have their reports printed by the Secretary, upon order duly made by the Executive Committee, before the annual meeting of the Association; and any such report containing any recommendation for action by the Association, shall be printed, together with a draft of a bill embodying the views of the Committee, whenever legislation shall be proposed. Such reports shall be distributed by mail by the Secretary to all members of the Association at least thirty days before the annual meeting at which such report is proposed to be submitted.

It shall be the duty of each Vice-President and member of the General Council to endeavor to procure the enactment by the legislature of his state of every law recommended by the Association, and the Secretary shall furnish them with copies of every recommendation and of every bill recommended and a copy of this by-law; and whenever the Association shall by resolution recommend the enactment of any law, the Secretary shall furnish as soon as possible, a copy of the resolution to the President of each State Bar Association, with the request that such Association cooperate with the local vice-president and member of the General Council of this Association and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws of such state in having a bill introduced in the legislature of its state in conformity with the recommendation of this Association, and use proper means to procure the enactment of the same into law. In every state where there is no State Bar Association, a copy of such resolution, with a similar request, shall be sent to the President of the Bar Association of the principal cities in the state; and in every instance where the form of bill has been recommended, a copy thereof shall also be sent with the resolution.

ANNUAL DUES.

XI. The annual dues shall be payable at the annual meeting in advance. If any member neglects to pay his dues on or before June 1st following the annual meeting it shall be the duty of the Treasurer to serve upon him, by mail, a copy of this by-law and notice that unless the dues are paid within one month thereafter, the default will be reported to the Executive Committee which may, without further notice, cause his name to be stricken from the roll for non-payment of dues, and his membership and all rights in respect thereto will thereupon cease.

SECTIONS.-GENERAL REGULATIONS.

XII. Each Section shall meet at least once a year in connection with the meeting of the Association, but not during such hours as the Association is in session.

2. The proceedings of any or all of the Sections may be published from time to time, in the discretion of the Executive Committee.

3. Any member of the Association may enroll himself as a member of any Section provided he meets the requirements in other respects of the by-laws of such Section.

4. Matters arising in the meetings of the Association which relate to a subject with which a Section is primarily concerned, may be referred to such Section.

5. Appropriations may be made from time to time by the Executive Committee of the Association to any Section and to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws; but the financial liability of the Association to the Sections or any of them or to the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, shall be limited to such appropriations as may be made for them and shall cease upon payment to the treasurers of the Sections or of the Conference of the amounts so appropriated.

6. The chairman or other officer of each Section shall present to the Association at its annual meeting a report in detail of its work and finances up to the preceding June 1st.

« PreviousContinue »