"Rat Rule" adopted

Law.com has California Supreme Court Adopts Lawyer 'Snitch Rule' -- The rule puts California in line with the 49 other states in the nation that already have mandatory-reporting requirements for lawyers.

Starting Aug. 1, California lawyers will have an ethical duty to report their colleagues’ wrongdoing under a professional conduct rule enacted by the state Supreme Court and announced Thursday.

The justices unanimously approved the new California Rule of Professional Conduct 8.3, which will require attorneys to alert the state bar or a court “when the lawyer knows of credible evidence that another lawyer has committed a criminal act or has engaged in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or reckless or intentional misrepresentation or misappropriation of funds or property that raises a substantial question as to that lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects.”

Case notes:

No record = no appeal (here and here).

Frivolous appeals = sanctions (here).

Pro tem concurs/dissents (here).