WYOMING COURT RULES

12 (1) Arguments, objections and remarks shall be addressed to the court. (2) Counsel shall stand when addressed by the court or when speaking to the court. (3) When examining a witness, counsel shall stand at the lectern and not walk around the courtroom. (4) Counsel shall request permission to approach the bench or the witness. instruct clients and witnesses as to appropriate (5) Counsel shall demeanor and dress. Comment. Courts, litigants, and the public rightfully expect attorneys to adhere to a very high standard of professional behavior. Stated positively, such behavior is exemplified by candor, courtesy, civility, honesty, integrity and fairness in all aspects of an attorney’s involvement in the adjudicative process. This conduct is too often overlooked by attorneys who view themselves solely as combatants rather than professionals entrusted with the fair and orderly administration of justice according to established rules of procedure and substantive law. Attorneys who engage in obnox- ious, caustic, or rude behavior, or who use their professional position to demean, degrade, or harass others involved in the adjudicative process violate the standard of professional behavior. While it is impossible to define all conduct violating the standard of behavior enunciated by this rule, shouting, cursing, and the use of obnoxious gestures are each strong indicators of a violation. Personal attacks on opposing counsel are never appropriate. Attorneys must strive to uphold professional standards of behavior in order to avoid the loss of trust by the public in our system of justice. As a self-policing profession, it is incumbent upon attorneys to demand adher- ence to professional standards of behavior, not only by themselves, but by other attorneys with whom they deal. Attorneys should emphasize adher- ence to these standards by those whom they employ or become associated with, including out-of-state counsel. As attorneys should always first attempt to resolve any differences between them on their own, not every violation of this rule warrants reporting it to the court or tribunal. Nevertheless, attorneys should consider it part of their professional obligation to report serious or repeated violations of the standards of behavior to the controlling adjudicative authority. Further, judges or other adjudicative authorities should consider it part of their obligation to enforce violations of this rule, irrespective of how they became aware of the violation. This rule should not be construed by attorneys as creating another avenue for filing unnecessary or inappropriate motions. Rather, it is expected that adherence to this rule will obviate a wide variety of motions that result in unnecessary demands upon the court’s time and resources. The mere fact that this rule has been adopted should provide incentive enough to eliminate the misconduct at which it is directed. Rarely should it be necessary for the court to sanction an attorney for conduct in violation of this rule. History: Adopted September 21, 2021, effective De- cember 1, 2021.