Hirsh
Hirsh v. Justices of the Supreme Court of California
Opinion
Lead Opinion
ORDER
The memorandum disposition filed March 29, 1995, is redesignated as a per curiam opinion.
OPINION
Facing pending attorney disciplinary proceedings in California, each appellant filed suit in federal court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 , alleging deprivation of various constitutional rights. The district court granted the government’s motions to dismiss. We affirm.
I. Background
A. The California Attorney Disciplinary System
Under California law, attorney disciplinary matters are handled by the State Bar Court (“Bar Court”), an administrative agency affiliated with the California State Bar Association (“State Bar”). Calif.Bus. & Prof.Code § 6086.5. The Bar Court is divided into a Hearing Department and a Review Department. Id. §§ 6079.1, 6086.65. Disciplinary proceedings are commenced by serving the accused attorney with a Notice to Show Cause. The Hearing Department then conducts a formal adversarial hearing during which the accused attorney and a State Bar prosecutor present evidence before a Bar Court judge. The Hearing Department makes findings and a recommendation regarding appropriate discipline. The attorney may appeal to the Review Department, which reviews the Hearing…