Leadership Indemnification Form

The purpose of this communication is to provide clarification regarding the AAO’s disciplinary process for ethics complaints, specifically as it relates to members serving in an official capacity in the AAO.

The AAO Bylaws dictate the procedure for handling ethics complaints filed against its members. For legal reasons relative to protecting the AAO, anyone connected with the AAO (other than COMEJC members and any appellate panels appointed per the procedure of the Bylaws), including members in leadership roles, cannot become involved in these proceedings. If there is too much effort on the part of anyone connected with the AAO to help a member who has a complaint filed against them, then the complainant can argue that the AAO is biased, and the AAO could be subject to liability.

The AAO indemnifies its members under the Bylaws, as provided in Article XIII as follows:

This Association shall indemnify to the full extent authorized or permitted by the Corporation Law of the State of Missouri any person made, or threatened to be made, a party to an action, suit or proceeding (whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative) by reason of the fact that he/she is or was a Trustee of, officer of, employee of, or a member elected or appointed to any position of responsibility within this Association.