Department of Justice July 30, 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule proposes to change the rules and procedures concerning the standards of representation and professional conduct for attorneys and other practitioners who appear before the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR), which includes the immigration judges and the Board of Immigration Appeals (Board), and to clarify who is authorized to represent and appear on behalf of individuals in proceedings before the Board and the immigration judges. Current regulations set forth who may represent individuals in proceedings before EOIR and also set forth the rules and procedures for imposing disciplinary sanctions against attorneys or other practitioners who engage in criminal, unethical, frivolous, or unprofessional conduct before EOIR. The proposed revisions would increase the number of grounds for discipline and improve the clarity and uniformity of the existing rules while incorporating miscellaneous technical and procedural changes. The changes proposed herein are based upon the Attorney General's recent initiative for improving the adjudicatory processes for the immigration judges and the Board, as well as EOIR's operational experience in administering the disciplinary program since the current process was established in 2000.