Bylaws of the Pinellas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Article I — Name, Status and Offices

Name: The name of this organization is the Pinellas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Inc. (hereinafter “the Association”).
Status: The Association shall be a not for profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Florida.
Offices: The Association shall maintain a post office box, P.O. Box 17591, Clearwater, FL 33762, which shall be the mailing address for the Association. The physical location of the Association’s office shall be the office of the then sitting president or such other location as designated by the elected officers (hereinafter “officers”).

Article II — Purpose

The Association is formed exclusively for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes including, without limitations, the following purposes:

To promote the education and knowledge of its members in the area of criminal law.
To promote public understanding and knowledge of criminal law and the criminal justice system.
To participate in the election and selection of judicial officers, as well as court and law enforcement officials.
To promote legal and judicial reform in the area of criminal law.
To promote social and professional networking among the members of the Association.

The Association does not and will not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin, or religion.

Article III — Membership

1. Application for membership:

Membership in the Association shall by application on a form prescribed by the officers.
Each application shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Association.
All applications for membership must be accompanied by the payment of the appropriate dues.
All applications shall be subject to approval by the officers.
All memberships are for a period of one calendar year, commencing January 1 and ending December 31.

2. Regular Membership:

Regular membership in the Association shall be available to those members of The Florida Bar who are persons of professional competency, integrity, and high ethical standards, and who are actively engaged in the defense of criminal cases.
Regular members shall include both private practitioners and public defenders.
An individual who is actively engaged in the prosecution of criminal cases is not eligible for membership in this Association.

3. Emeritus membership:

Emeritus status in the Association shall be available to those members who have previously been regular members for at least five (5) years, are substantially retired from the practice of law as determined by the Board of Directors and are otherwise eligible for membership. Voting by Proxy shall not be permitted in any of the Association proceedings.

4. Student Membership

Student Membership in the Association shall be available to any student currently enrolled in an accredited law school who is not presently active in the prosecution clinic CLI program.

5. Voting:

Regular members in good standing are entitled to vote on any issue properly before the membership.
Each regular member shall be entitled to one (1) vote.

6. Revocation of membership:

Resignation — A member, not in default of payment of dues and against whom no Association complaint is pending, may at any time, file his or her resignation in writing with the Secretary of the Association and it shall become effective upon receipt or upon a date certain if otherwise specified within the resignation letter. Reinstatement of membership may be accomplished pursuant to Article III, Section 1. Resignation from the Florida Bar shall automatically result in resignation from the Association.
Failure to Pay Dues — Any renewing member who fails to pay dues prior to January 31st of the calendar year shall be automatically terminated as a member of the Association. Such membership shall be reinstated upon payment of dues. An application for new membership must be accompanied with payment of dues.
Termination — If any member is, by a final order or judgment, disbarred from the practice of law in Florida, such person’s membership shall automatically be terminated.

7. PACDL Listserv:

Purpose — The PACDL listserv is for exchange of information relevant to the criminal defense bar. An invitation to join the listserv is limited to regular and emeritus members.
Improper Use — PACDL prohibits disseminating PACDL listserv communications to nonmembers. PACDL will not tolerate personal attacks nor gratuitous profanity towards a member. PACDL reserves the right to remove members who violate listserv policy by unanimous vote of the officers.

8. PACDL Facebook Page/Group:

Purpose — The PACDL Facebook Page/Group is the for the exchange of information relevant to the criminal defense bar. An invitation to join the Facebook Page/Group is limited to regular and emeritus members. As of the passage of these Bylaws, any non-member will be deleted from the Page/Group.
Improper Use — PACDL prohibits disseminating PACDL Facebook communications to nonmembers. PACDL will not tolerate personal attacks nor gratuitous profanity towards a member. PACDL reserves the right to remove members who violate the Facebook policy by unanimous vote of the officers.

Article IV — Finances

Annual Dues:

Dues shall be assessed annually.
Dues shall be paid on or before January 1st of each calendar year.
Members of the Association who are attorneys in private practice shall pay dues in the amount of $65.00 or an amount prescribed by the officers.
Members of the Association who are attorneys employed by the Office of the Public Defender shall pay dues in the amount of $40.00 or an amount prescribed by the officers.
Members of the Association who are Student Members shall not be required to pay membership dues.
Additional dues shall only be collected upon approval of the amount by majority vote of the members present at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Association.
Dues shall be collected by the Treasurer of the Association.
The officers may waive dues for any or all members of the Association upon good cause.

Article V — Officers

1. Officers

The officers of the Association shall be President, Immediate Past President, Vice-President, Treasurer, and Secretary. The officers are collectively referred to as the “Executive Board” or the “Board.”

2. Qualifications of Officers

Only voting members in good standing shall be eligible to be officers. An officer may not hold more than one office during any term of office.

3. Election of Officers:

Any member of the Association in good standing may be nominated by any other member in good standing to be elected for the position of an officer. A member in good standing may nominate themselves for the position of an officer. Nominations for the following calendar year will be accepted from September 1st through September 30th.
Elections shall be held annually, in the month of October, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Association.
Election of the officers shall be by majority vote of the members present at the regularly scheduled October meeting of the Association. In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be held immediately, between the two candidates who received the largest share of vote.
Upon election the officers will take their positions and assume their duties as specified in Article V, Section 5, January 1st of the following year.
Chapter Representative elections are to be held at the February general membership meeting. PACDL shall elect the appropriate number of representatives and forward the election results to the Secretary of FACDL for announcement and swearing in at the Annual Meeting. Each Chapter Representative shall be a member of FACDL. The term of Chapter representatives shall be for one (1) year.

4. Vacancies

If an office becomes vacant by resignation or another reason, nominations for the office shall be called for at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Association, with a vote held at the same meeting upon the close of the nominations for the vacant position. Election of the officer to a vacant position shall proceed in the manner specified by the provisions of Article V, Section 3(c). Members elected to a vacated position shall serve until the annual election in October.

5. Duties and Responsibilities

President — Shall be the chief executive officer of the Association; shall be responsible to oversee and coordinate the activities of the Association; shall be the chief spokesperson for the Association and its policies; shall preside at regularly scheduled meetings of the general membership; shall be the representative and directive head in the general conduct of Association affairs; and shall perform whatever other duties may be necessary to fulfill his or her responsibilities as prescribed by these bylaws.
Immediate Past President — Shall assist with the congruity of the new board and fill in for the President-Elect when needed on behalf of the Board and Organization.
Vice-President — Shall advise and assist the President in the conduct of his or her office; shall as called upon by the President; shall succeed to the duties of the President in the absence or incapacity of the President; and shall perform whatever other duties the bylaws as may be necessary to the proper operation of the Association.
Secretary — Shall record and permanently maintain the minutes of all general membership meetings; shall maintain a current mailing list of all members; shall have general charge of the files of the Association and the Association’s correspondence; shall notify the membership of the dates, times, and locations of regularly scheduled meetings; and shall perform whatever other duties the bylaws as may be necessary to the proper operation of the Association.
Treasurer — Shall collect the dues or other monies paid to the Association; shall maintain the bank account of the Association; shall promptly record all receipts and deposit same in the bank account of the Association; shall endorse checks for the payment of the Association’s obligations; shall notify the Secretary of any delinquencies in dues that exceed 90 days, shall submit the financial statements to the Association at the end of the officers’ term; shall file the annual report between January 1st and May 1st each year; shall file IRS form 990-pf annually; and shall perform whatever other duties the bylaws as may be necessary to the proper operation of the Association.
Chapter Representative(s) for FACDL — In accordance with the FACDL Bylaws, PACDL shall have at least one (1) Chapter Representative per fifty (50) members and approved by FACDL. If the Association has 1 or 2 Representatives per FACDL, the positions are open to all members to campaign for. The Chapter Representative(s) shall attend FACDL Board Meetings and report back to the Association all pertinent information the Association needs to know regarding FACDL. The Chapter Representative shall serve as a “bridge” between the Association and FACDL and always represent the Association in highest regard.

6. Terms

An officer, once elected, shall serve for a term of one (1) year. Officers may be re-elected upon expiration of their term, in accordance with Article V, Section 3.

Article VI — Meetings

Meeting shall be held at least once per month. The location and dates of said meetings shall be set by the President. More meetings may be held at the discretion of the president and the membership.
The President shall be responsible for setting the agenda for the meetings. Agenda items may be added by any member of the Association.
In order for a vote to be held at a meeting of the Association, a quorum must be established. A quorum is established in the event that six (6) members in good standing or more are present at the meeting. Officers may be counted in establishing a quorum. Officers are entitled to one (1) vote each.
Matters voted upon by the membership shall be deemed passed when approved by a majority of the members present.

Article VII — Adoption and Amendment of Bylaws

Method — The bylaws shall be approved by majority vote of the membership.
Effective Date — These bylaws and all amendments thereto shall take effect immediately upon a majority vote of the membership.
Amendment of bylaws — These bylaws may be amended upon a majority vote of the membership at any regularly scheduled meeting of the Association, provided that the proposed amendment was placed upon the meeting agenda at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting and that all members in good standing were provided reasonable notice of the agenda item seeking amendment at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting.

Revision History

Bylaws approved and adopted November 10, 2010; Added Article III, Sec. 3 (Lifetime Membership) December 2010; Added Article IV, Sec.4 (Dues — Attorneys in Private Practice Less than 3 Years); Added Article IV, Sec. 6 (Dues — Lifetime Membership) January 12, 2011; Article III, Sec 4 & 5 Article III, Sec. 5 & 6, respectively, Article III, Sec. 4 inserted (Student Membership) Article IV, Sec. 7-9 renumbered to Article IV, Sec. 8-10, respectively, Article IV, Sec. 7 inserted (Dues — Student Membership) March 9, 2011; Updated dues, added Article III, Sec. 7 & 8 (Listserv and Facebook respectively), deleted Article III, Section 3 (Lifetime Membership), deleted Article IV, Sec.4 (Dues — Attorneys in Private Practice Less than 3 Years) May 21, 2020; Added Immediate Past President to Board (Article V, Section 5) August 20, 2020; Article I, Sec.1 deleted “County” from the organization name December 2020. May 28, 2026; Administrative Revision: Corrected article numbering to eliminate a numbering gap. Former Article VII (Meetings) was renumbered as Article VI, and former Article VIII (Adoption and Amendment of Bylaws) was renumbered as Article VII. No substantive changes were made to the bylaws.