Summary
The Supreme Court of Florida amended the Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints to add an immunity provision. The amendment grants absolute immunity from civil liability to members and staff of Local Professionalism Panels and Circuit Committees on Professionalism for acts performed within the course and scope of their official duties, effective immediately.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints should be amended to provide immunity from civil liability to members and staff of Local Professionalism Panels and Circuit Committees on Professionalism.
- Whether the amendment should become effective immediately despite not having been previously published for comment.
Holdings
- The Court amended the Code by adding Section 4, providing absolute immunity from civil liability to members of Local Professionalism Panels, staff assisting those panels, members of Circuit Committees on Professionalism, and staff assisting those committees for acts performed in the course and scope of their official duties.
- The amendment became effective immediately upon release of the opinion, although interested persons were given sixty days to file comments because the amendment had not previously been published for comment.
Key quotations
“After considering the responsibilities performed by the Local Professionalism Panels and the Circuit Committees on Professionalism, we hereby amend the Code by adding Section 4, “Immunity,” to provide immunity from civil liability to members of the Local Professionalism Panels and members of the Circuit Committees on Professionalism, as well as to staff persons for these entities, for all acts performed in the course of their official duties.” (-2)
“The members of the Local Professionalism Panels, staff persons assisting those panels, members of the Circuit Committees on Professionalism, and staff persons assisting those committees, shall have absolute immunity from civil liability for all acts in the course and scope of their official duties.” (-4)
Factual background
The Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints established Local Professionalism Panels to address alleged attorney unprofessional conduct at the local level. The professionalism system also included Circuit Committees on Professionalism and staff assisting those entities. After considering the responsibilities performed by the panels and committees, the Court determined that the Code should expressly provide immunity from civil liability for acts performed in the course and scope of official duties.
Procedural history
The Supreme Court of Florida had adopted the Code for Resolving Professionalism Complaints in 2013. After further study by the Court's Commission on Professionalism, the Court initiated this original proceeding and amended the Code to add an immunity provision. The amendment became effective immediately, subject to a sixty-day period for interested persons to submit comments.