HBA-EDN H.B. 2042 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2042
By: Danburg
Criminal Jurisprudence
4/5/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The relationship between attorney and client is a fiduciary one in which
the attorney occupies the highest position of trust and confidence.  Such a
relationship is characterized by a client's dependence on the attorney as a
legal adviser.  A sexual relationship between an attorney and a client can
involve exploitation of an attorney's fiduciary role and is in violation of
an attorney's basic ethical obligation not to use the trust of the client
to the client's disadvantage.  An attorney who is sexually involved with a
client becomes emotionally involved with that client and may be unable to
represent the client without impairment of the exercise of independent
professional judgment.  House Bill 2042 includes sexual misconduct of an
attorney as a sexual assault offense if the attorney caused the client to
submit or participate by exploiting the person's emotional dependency on
the attorney, and the client did not consent.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2042 amends the Penal Code to provide that a sexual assault is
without the consent of another person if the actor is an attorney licensed
to practice law in this state who causes the other person, who at or before
the time the offense was committed was a client of the attorney, to submit
or participate by exploiting the other person's emotional dependency on the
attorney's professional character as a legal adviser. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.