Spokane City Council President Joe Shogan, a lawyer by trade, has laid down the law.

Personal verbal attacks “cannot and will not be allowed to continue” at City Council meetings, he said in a policy statement released Thursday.

There was a time, not that long ago, when personal verbal attacks were what often passed for council debate. But times have changed, and Shogan’s longing for courtesy and decorum was triggered not by fellow council members but by residents who speak at council sessions.

Thursday’s statement spelled out the steps he’ll take to silence unruliness, but other than to say it doesn’t restrict criticizing policies, just people, Shogan didn’t set forth the criteria that will distinguish personal verbal attacks.

Recently, a speaker called Shogan a mediocre lawyer. Personal attack? That’s hard to say, although we may find out Monday, when the new policy takes effect.

Since assuming the gavel after Dennis Hession moved from council president to mayor, Shogan has had his share of tense exchanges with speakers at council meetings. He once scolded a person who addressed him as Joe and instructed the offender to call him “Council President Shogan.”

We sympathize with Shogan’s desire for civility. On our own pages, we know how challenging it is to differentiate between spirited discourse and the gratuitous invective that many letter writers embrace as literary style. Personal communication specialist Deborah Tannen knew what she was talking about when she titled one of her books “The Argument Culture.”

But Shogan must know he will be watched keenly for fairness and consistency in his enforcement of his subjective new policy. Given his sometimes combative nature, we expect to hear more about the issue.

We don’t mean that personally, of course.