Mo. R. Gov. Bar Jud. 4-8.4
It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to:
Mo. R. Gov. Bar Jud. 4-8.4
COMMENT
[1] Lawyers are subject to discipline when they violate or attempt to violate the Rules of Professional Conduct, knowingly assist or induce another to do so, or do so through the acts of another, as when they request or instruct an agent to do so on the lawyer's behalf. Rule 4-8.4(a), however, does not prohibit a lawyer from advising a client concerning action the client is legally entitled to take.
[2] Many kinds of illegal conduct reflect adversely on fitness to practice law, such as offenses involving fraud and the offense of willful failure to file an income tax return. However, some kinds of offenses carry no such implication. Traditionally, the distinction was drawn in terms of offenses involving "moral turpitude." That concept can be construed to include offenses concerning some matters of personal morality, such as adultery and comparable offenses, that have no specific connection to fitness for the practice of law. Although a lawyer is personally answerable to the entire criminal law, a lawyer should be professionally answerable only for offenses that indicate lack of those characteristics relevant to law practice. Offenses involving violence, dishonesty, breach of trust, or serious interference with the administration of justice are in that category. A pattern of repeated offenses, even ones of minor significance when considered separately, can indicate indifference to legal obligation.
[3] Rule 4-8.4(c) recognizes instances where lawyers for criminal law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies, or the state attorney general advise others about or supervise others in undercover investigations and provides an exception to allow the activity without the lawyer engaging in professional misconduct. The exception acknowledges current, acceptable practice of these entities. This exception is not intended to state or imply that an entity has the authority to conduct undercover investigations unless that authority is separately granted to the entity by law. Although the exception appears in this rule, it is also applicable to Rules 4-4.1 and 4-4.3. This exception does not authorize conduct otherwise prohibited by Rule 4-4.2. Nothing in the rule allows the lawyer to advise others about or supervise others in undercover investigations unless the criminal law enforcement agency, regulatory agency, or state attorney general is authorized by law to engage in such conduct.
[4] Rule 4-8.4(g) identifies the special importance of a lawyer's words or conduct, in representing a client, that manifest bias or prejudice or constitute harassment against others based upon race, sex, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, or marital status. Rule 4-8.4(g) excludes those instances in which a lawyer engages in legitimate advocacy with respect to these factors. A lawyer acts as an officer of the court and is licensed to practice by the state. The manifestation of bias or prejudice or the engagement in harassment by a lawyer, in representing a client, fosters discrimination in the provision of services in the state judicial system, creates a substantial likelihood of material prejudice by impairing the integrity and fairness of the judicial system, and undermines public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of justice.
Whether a lawyer's conduct constitutes professional misconduct in violation of Rule 4-8.4(g) can be determined only by a review of all the circumstances; e.g., the gravity of the acts and whether the acts are part of a pattern of prohibited conduct. For purposes of Rule 4-8.4(g), "bias or prejudice" means words or conduct that the lawyer knew or should have known discriminate against, threaten, intimidate, or denigrate any individual or group. Examples of manifestations of bias or prejudice include, but are not limited to, epithets; slurs; demeaning nicknames; negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating, or hostile acts; suggestions of connections between race, ethnicity, or nationality and crime; and irrelevant references to personal characteristics. For purposes of Rule 4-8.4(g), "harassment" is verbal or physical conduct that shows hostility or aversion toward a person based upon race, sex, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, sexual orientation, or marital status. "Harassment" includes, but is not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature when:
(a) submission to that conduct is made, either explicitly or implicitly, a term or condition of the individual's employment;
(b) submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting such individual; or
(c) such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment.
[5] A lawyer may refuse to comply with an obligation imposed by law upon a good faith belief that no valid obligation exists. The provisions of Rule 4-1.2(f) concerning a good faith challenge to the validity, scope, meaning, or application of the law apply to challenges of legal regulation of the practice of law.
[6] Lawyers holding public office assume legal responsibilities going beyond those of other citizens. A lawyer's abuse of public office can suggest an inability to fulfill the professional role of lawyers. The same is true of abuse of positions of private trust such as trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, agent, and officer, director, or manager of a corporation or other organization.