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B-193462 1 (1979-01-02)

handle is hein.gao/gaobacuoi0001 and id is 1 raw text is: UNITED STATES GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFIqE -J WASHINGTrON,D.C. 20548 OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL In reply January 2, 1979 refer to: B-193462 The Honorable William E. Foley, Director Administrative Office of the United States Courts Washington, D.C. 20544 Dear Mr. Foley: This refers to your notice of October 20, 1978, soliciting our comments and suggestions on the Report and Tentative Recommendations of the Committee to Consider LStandards for Admission to Practice in the Federal Courtsj While we generally support changes proposed that will improve the quality of the bar of the Federal District Courts, we believe that Government agencies such as the General Accounting Office (GAO), which only under specific circumstances represent themselves before the courts, should be exempted from proposed rules setting minimum require- ments for trial experience. As you know, most Government agencies are represented by the Justice Department in court proceedings. However, the Congress has determined that in certain circumstances,--for example, where particular expertise is involved or where an agency's independence from the Executive Branch is to be protected,--some agencies should be given the authority to represent themselves. The GAO has such authority under the Medicare-Medicaid Anti-Fraud and Abuse Amendments (Pub. L. No. 95-142, § 6, October 25, 1977, 91 Stat. 1175, 1192), the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 ( 31 U.S.C. § 1406 (1976)), and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. § 6384 (1976)). We have also requested Congress to give us enforcement power in connection with our access authority under 31 U.S.C. § 54 (1976). If adopted, Rule 1 could require an attorney to have at least four trial experiences before he could appear alone in testimonial proceedings before a Federal District Court. It is anticipated by the Committee that the trial experiences would involve appearances as lead counsel, advised by an experienced member of the bar of a United States District Court or as an assistant to such a member. As indicated earlier, obtaining trial assistance from experienced Justice Department attorneys, while helpful in meeting the Committee's requirements, would nevertheless compromise our independence from the Executive Branch which was the primary reason we were given authority to represent ourselves. Furthermore, the rule would require all applicants to receive a satisfactory score on a test of Federal civil 003032

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