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.