As the public comment period closes today, April 6, 2026, the Utah State Bar has formally issued a comment in opposition to the Department of Justice’s proposed rule, Review of State Bar Complaints and Allegations Against Department of Justice Attorneys. This rule seeks to grant the DOJ the “right of first review” over ethics complaints against its attorneys, requiring state bars to pause their own independent investigations indefinitely.

The Bar joins a mounting chorus of over 1.05 million commenters, including the Conference of Chief Justices, formerly led by Utah’s own Chief Justice Matthew Durrant, who argue that this proposal undermines the sovereign authority of state courts to regulate the legal profession. Legal experts emphasize that the rule threatens the principle of equal accountability and appears to conflict with the McDade Amendment, which mandates that federal prosecutors be subject to state ethics rules “to the same extent and in the same manner” as all other attorneys.