Constitution of the Capitol Hill Chapter of the Federal Bar Association
(As amended through September 11, 1996)
Article I: Name
This organization shall be known as the Capitol Hill Chapter of the Federal Bar Association.
Article II: Seal and Insignia
The official seal and insignia of the Chapter shall be the seal and insignia of the Federal Bar Association to which shall be added the words "Capitol Hill Chapter, 1962." Chapter stationery may bear an appropriate reproduction of the Capitol of the United States.
Article III: Objectives
The objectives of the Chapter shall be those of the Federal Bar Association. It shall be the special purpose of the Chapter to promote these objectives among members of the federal legal profession serving in the legislative and judicial branches of the Federal Government in the geographic region of the Chapter, which is the Capitol Hill area.
Article IV: Membership
Section 1. Regular Membership. Any regular member in good standing of the Federal Bar Association is eligible for regular membership in the Chapter and may retain such regular membership so long as the Constitution, rules and regulations of the Federal Bar Association and the Chapter so permit.
Section 2. Affiliation. Any attorney or senior law student of good moral character not qualified to be a regular member of the Federal Bar Association may be considered by the Council of the Chapter for affiliation as an affiliate of the Chapter.
Section 3. Members' Rights. Regular members of the Chapter shall be entitled to vote in Chapter elections and shall be eligible to hold Chapter office or to serve on the Council, except that only regular members of the Chapter serving in a component unit of the Chapter at the time of their election shall be eligible for nomination and election to the office of President of the Chapter and to the office of President-Elect of the Chapter.
Section 4. Affiliates' Rights. Affiliates of the Chapter have all Chapter privileges except that they may not vote or hold an elective position in the Chapter.
Section 5. Mailings to Others. There shall be a "Friends of the Chapter" category to accommodate those individuals who wish to be placed on the Capitol Hill Chapter mailing list, but who either are not eligible or do not want to become members of the Chapter. A fee which is large enough to cover the cost of the Chapter mailings shall be assessed annually.
Article V: Officers and Council
Section 1. Chapter Offices. The Officers of the Chapter shall be elected for one-year terms and shall be a President; a President-Elect, who shall succeed the President at the expiration of his or her term; a Vice President; a Secretary; and a Treasurer.
Section 2. Succession to the Presidency. In the event that the office of the President becomes vacant, the President-Elect shall automatically become and serve as President for the remainder of that term of office. In the event of the inability of the President-Elect to assume the Presidency of the Chapter, the Vice President shall assume the Presidency.
Section 3. Eligibility to Serve as President. No person may serve more than two successive one-year terms as President, and no component unit of the Chapter may be represented in the Presidency of the Chapter for more than two successive one-year terms.
Section 4. Composition of the Council. There shall be a Council, whose voting members shall consist of (a) the officers; (b) the two most recent past Presidents of the Chapter; (c) two representatives who shall be elected at large and who shall not be from the same component unit; and (d) two elected representatives from each of the Chapter's component units. The Chapter's seven component units are: (1) the House of Representatives; (2) the Senate; (3) the Library of Congress; (4) the Supreme Court; (5) the General Accounting Office; (6) the Government Printing Office; and (7) a component unit consisting of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, the United States Sentencing Commission, and the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. In addition, the President may appoint up to four voting members of the Council to serve at large. All past Presidents of the Chapter, not otherwise members of the Council, shall be non-voting Council members. Notice of the meetings shall be provided to all voting members of the Council.
Section 5. Tenure of Council Members. Elective members of the Council shall hold office for a term of two years and appointive members of the Council shall serve until the first day of October next following their appointment.
Article VI: Nomination and Elections
Section 1. Nominations. Candidates for officers of the Chapter and for elective positions on the Council may be nominated by petitions addressed to the Nominations and Elections Committee signed by 10 or more regular members in good standing, and bearing a signed statement by the candidate that he or she is willing to serve. The Committee may also nominate one or more candidates for all offices and positions and in any event must nominate one candidate for each office and position on the Council. No member may sign petitions for more than one candidate for each office or position. Petitions much be filed with the Committee at least 20 days prior to the Annual Meeting. The Committee may hold such public or executive meetings as its Chairman shall direct.
Section 2. Elections. At least 14 days prior to the Annual Meeting the Nominations and Elections Committee shall cause a ballot to be mailed to each regular member of the Chapter in good standing. The ballot shall list under each office or Council position the names of the candidates in alphabetical order, and shall provide write-in spaces for each office and position. Voting procedures and instructions as made by the Committee and approved by the Council shall be included with the ballot. Regular members reinstated to good standing prior to midnight of the second day preceding the Annual Meeting shall be issued a ballot. All ballots must be returned to the Committee by noon on the day preceding the Annual Meeting. The Committee shall report the results at the Annual Meeting.
Article VII: Duties of Officers
Section 1. President. The President shall be the Chief Executive Officer of the Chapter and Chairman of the Council. He or she shall perform such other duties as shall be inherent or required under this Constitution and the Constitution of the Federal Bar Association. The President shall serve as the Delegate to the National Council of the Federal Bar Association or designate an alternate to attend in his or her place.
Section 2. President-Elect and Vice President. The President-Elect, or in his or her absence the Vice President, shall perform the duties of the President during his or her absence or inability and shall perform such other duties as may be required by the President or this Constitution.
Section 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall handle the general correspondence of the Chapter; give notice of all meetings and handle all other official notices as may be required; keep accurate records of the meetings of the Chapter, the Council and Executive Committee; keep a roster of the membership, including addresses, that is properly classified as to good standing, and make such available when requested by any officer of the Council; be responsible for the archives of the Chapter; and perform such other duties as properly pertain to the office or are required by this Constitution.
Section 4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall collect all moneys due the Chapter and, if directed, due the Federal Bar Association from Chapter members. He or she shall be the custodian of the Chapter funds under such terms as the Council shall direct and shall disburse funds only at the direction of the Council or the Executive Committee. The Treasurer shall keep proper records available for audit whenever ordered by the Executive Committee and shall make reports at Council or Executive Committee meetings when requested. He or she shall have charge of budget estimates to be made to the Council unless a special budget committee is appointed, or which he or she must be a member, and shall perform such other duties as may be required by this Constitution.
Section 5. Delegate to National Council. The Delegate to the National Council of the Federal Bar Association shall attend all meetings of the National Council. He or she shall engage in National Council presentations and discussions and make reports to the Chapter as seem feasible.
Article VIII. Duties and Powers of the Council
Section 1. Generally. The Council shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Chapter. It, or the Executive Committee between Council meetings, shall authorize all expenditures of Chapter funds and shall determine both policy and administrative matters pertaining to the Chapter.
Section 2. Dues and Assessments. The Council shall have power by a vote of 2/3 of those present to determine the dues of affiliates and friends of the Chapter, and to make special assessments in extraordinary circumstances. The Council may vote at a meeting of the Chapter with a recommendation. At such a meeting, a majority vote shall determine the questions.
Section 3. Vacancies. During the interim between elections, the Council may fill vacancies in the offices of the Chapter and its own elective membership. In the event that it becomes necessary for the Council to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of a Council member representing a component unit of the Chapter, the Council shall appoint, from among the Chapter members in that component, a Council member to represent that component for the remainder of the Chapter year.
Section 4. Quorum. One third of the elective members of the Council shall constitute a quorum.
Section 5. Meetings. An annual meeting of the Council shall be held during the month of October at the call of the President. The President shall call such special meetings of the Council as are necessary. Upon written request to the Secretary, signed by nine members of the Council, the President shall call a meeting of the Council.
Article IX. Committees
Section 1. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the Chapter officers of which a majority shall constitute a quorum. It shall be the administrative board of the Chapter empowered to act as the governing body of the Chapter in between meetings of the Council, subject to the authority and discretion of the Council, and shall report all such acts to the next meeting of the Council.
Section 2. Standing Committees. Standing Committees which shall be appointed each year by the President are as follows:
1. Nominations and Elections
2. Membership
3. Professional Affairs
4. Memorials and Awards
5. Program
The Nominations and Elections Committee shall perform the functions outlined in Article VI hereof.
The Membership Committee shall strive constantly to increase Chapter and Federal Bar membership and shall coordinate applications for membership with the Federal Bar Association headquarters and/or the Circuit Vice President.
Section 3. Special Committees. The President shall have authority to appoint such other committees as he or she considers proper, with duties not inconsistent with this Constitution or the Constitution of the Federal Bar Association.
Article X. Removal from Office and Expulsion from Membership
Officers and Council members may be removed from office and members may be expelled from membership in the Chapter only on charges drawn by a special committee appointed by the Council. The accused shall receive in writing a copy of the charges and shall have the right to be heard by the Council in such proceedings as the Council shall adopt. A 2/3 vote of the members of the Council present and voting shall be necessary for removal or expulsion. No action of the Council may be taken respecting the status of National Membership in the Federal Bar Association other than a recommendation to the National body. No member of the Council facing removal charges may sit and vote as a member of the Council in proceedings against him or her.
Article XI. Meetings of the Chapter.
Section 1. Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting of the Chapter shall be held no later than September 15. Newly elected officers and Council members shall have the privilege of attending meetings of the Executive Committee and Council, but shall not have voting privileges in their newly elected capacities until they officially take office at the beginning of the fiscal year. Newly elected officers and Council members are deemed to officially take office as of October 1, irrespective of the date on which any formal installation ceremony shall occur.
Section 2. Regular and Other Meetings. There shall be at least four regular meetings of the Chapter during the Chapter year. The Council may authorize other appropriate meetings and it should be the policy of the Chapter to hold meetings each month that Congress is in session.
Session 3. Quorum. At a meeting of the Chapter, a quorum of 25 members in good standing shall be necessary for the transaction of official business.
Session 4. Order of Business. At all meetings of the Chapter, reports of the Council, followed by those of Committees, shall have priority in the order of business unless changed by majority vote of the members present.
Section 5. Notice. The Secretary shall give notice of all Chapter meetings including purposes, program, and pertinent data. The President, if he or she so desires, may issue such notices.
Article XII. Dues
Annual dues for each member of the Federal Bar Association are fixed in accordance with the Constitution and By-laws of the Association. Members of the Chapter will be notified by the Headquarters Office of the Association when dues payments are to be made. The Chapter may assess additional dues, subject to the approval of a majority of the members present at the Annual Meeting of the Chapter.
Article XIII. Amendments
This Constitution may be amended at the Annual Meeting or at a duly called meeting of the Chapter by a 2/3 vote of the members present, provided such proposed amendment shall first have been submitted to the Council at least ten days prior to the meeting for its recommendation, and notification of the proposed amendment and the Council's recommendation given to members of the Chapter, and provided further, that no amendment so adopted shall be in conflict with the Constitution of the Federal Bar Association.
Article XIV. Fiscal Year
The fiscal year of the Chapter shall be October 1 through September 30 and the terms of Chapter officers and Council members shall be the same for the one- and two-year terms respectively as specified in this Constitution.
Article XV. By-Laws
The Council shall have authority to make such By-laws, and rules and regulations as it may deem necessary, not inconsistent with this Constitution or the Constitution of the Federal Bar Association.
(Revised at the Annual Meetings of the Capitol Hill Chapter on August 15, 1984, September 8, 1994, and September 11, 1996.)