"I am not here as a potted plant. I am here to represent my client".

That is what attorney Gerald Shargel reportedly told the judge in a preliminary hearing where he tried to weed out some charges against his client, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane.

And that is exactly what an attorney should have a right to do - not to be a "potted plant", be able to speak up on behalf of his or her client, and not have any fear of repercussions, sanctions or financial fines.

When attorneys are relegated, as they are now, by sanctions and fines, and disciplinary actions, into position of "potted plants", by the very courts that "regulate" their livelihood, the very courts that they must at times challenge for impropriety, and appeal, and embarrass by their statements - the public cannot expect any effective service for their money.

And that should change.