204 Pa. Code r. 83.205 - The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
(a) The
Supreme Court shall appoint a board to be known as "The Disciplinary Board of
the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania" which shall be composed of ten members of
the Bar of this Commonwealth and two non-lawyer electors. One of the members
shall be designated by the Court as Chair and another as Vice-Chair.
(b) The regular terms of members of the Board
shall be for six years, unless otherwise specified by order of the Court, and
no member shall serve for more than one term. Except when acting under
Paragraph (c)(5), (7), (8), (9) and (16) of this rule, the Board shall act only
with the concurrence of not less than the lesser of:
(i) seven members, or
(ii) a majority of the members in office who
are not disqualified from participating in the matter or proceeding.
Seven members shall constitute a quorum. The presence of members who are disqualified from participating in one or more matters to be considered at a meeting shall nonetheless be counted for purposes of determining the existence of a quorum for the consideration of all matters on the agenda.
(c)
The Board shall have the power and duty:
(1)
To consider the conduct of any person subject to these rules after
investigation by Disciplinary Counsel pursuant to Enforcement Rule 207(b)(1).
Complaints filed directly with the Board shall be forwarded to Chief
Disciplinary Counsel for assignment to a district office.
(2) To appoint an Executive Director, a Chief
Disciplinary Counsel, Legal Counsel and such staff as may from time to time be
required to properly perform the functions prescribed by these rules.
(3) To appoint not less than 18 hearing
committee members within each disciplinary district. Each person appointed as a
hearing committee member for a district shall be a member of the bar of this
Commonwealth who maintains an office for the practice of law within that
district.
(4) To assign special
masters pursuant to Rule 206(d).
(5) To assign formal charges or the conduct
of an investigatory hearing to a hearing committee or special master, and to
assign a reinstatement petition to a hearing committee. A hearing committee
member who has passed upon Disciplinary Counsel's recommended disposition of
the matter shall be ineligible to serve on the hearing committee that considers
the matter.
(6) To review the
conclusions of hearing committees and special masters with respect to formal
charges or petitions for reinstatement, and to prepare and forward its own
findings and recommendations, together with the record of the proceeding before
the hearing committee or special master, to the Supreme Court.
(7) To assign:
(i) hearing committee members to review and
approve or modify recommendations by Disciplinary Counsel for dismissals,
informal admonitions, private reprimands, public reprimands and institution of
formal charges;
(ii) senior or
experienced hearing committee members to hear and determine attacks on the
validity of subpoenas issued pursuant to Enforcement Rule 213(a)(2) (relating
to subpoena power, depositions and related matters), as provided in Enforcement
Rule 213(d)(2); or
(iii) senior or
experienced hearing committee members to consider a petition for reinstatement
to active status from retired or inactive status, or administrative suspension,
under Enforcement Rule 218 (relating to reinstatement proceedings) of a
formerly admitted attorney who has not been suspended or
disbarred.
(8) To review,
through a designated panel of three members, and approve or modify a
determination by a reviewing hearing committee member that a matter should be
concluded by dismissal, private informal admonition, private reprimand, public
reprimand or the institution of formal charges before a hearing
committee.
(9) To review, through a
designated panel of three members, and approve or reject a joint petition in
support of discipline on consent filed with the Board pursuant to Enforcement
Rule 215(d).
(10) To review,
through a single member designated by the Board Chair, and approve or reject a
certification filed by Disciplinary Counsel under Enforcement Rule
218(d)(2)(ii) indicating that Disciplinary Counsel has determined that there is
no impediment to reinstatement of the petitioner, and to issue the report and
recommendation required by subdivision (d) of Enforcement Rule 218.
(11) To administer, by the Board or through a
designated panel of three members selected by the Board Chair, private
reprimands or public reprimands to attorneys for misconduct.
(12) To adopt rules of procedure not
inconsistent with these rules. Such rules may provide for the delegation to the
Board Chair or the Vice-Chair of the power to act for the Board on
administrative and procedural matters.
(13) To cause testimony relating to the
conduct of formerly admitted attorneys to be perpetuated.
(14) To petition the Court under Enforcement
Rule 301(d) (relating to proceedings where an attorney is declared to be
incompetent or is alleged to be incapacitated) to determine whether an attorney
is incapacitated from continuing the practice of law by reason of mental
infirmity or illness or because of addiction to drugs or intoxicants, and to
retain counsel other than Disciplinary Counsel to represent the Board in such
proceedings when the Board considers such separate representation to be
appropriate.
(15) To recommend the
temporary suspension of a respondent-attorney pursuant to Enforcement Rule
208(f)(5) (relating to emergency temporary suspension orders and related
relief).
(16) To decide, through
the Board Chair, the Vice-Chair, or a designated lawyer-member of the Board, an
interlocutory appeal to the Board when such appeal is permitted by the
Enforcement Rules, the Board Rules, or other law.
(17) To authorize the use of electronic means
to conduct prehearing conferences and post-hearing proceedings before a hearing
committee, special master or the Board, but all adjudicatory proceedings shall
be conducted in person unless warranted by extraordinary circumstances. Witness
testimony may be presented via ACT upon motion for cause shown. All proceedings
shall be conducted in accordance with Board Rules, Enforcement Rules and the
decisional law of the Court and the Board.
(18) To establish, assess and collect:
(i) the necessary expenses incurred in the
investigation and prosecution of a proceeding that results in the imposition of
discipline, or the investigation and processing of a petition for reinstatement
and in any proceeding resulting therefrom;
(ii) late payment penalties under Enforcement
Rule 219(f)(1) for failure to timely complete annual registration;
and
(iii) administrative fees for
status changes where a petition for reinstatement is not
required.
(19) To assess
and collect reinstatement filing fees, administrative fees based on the
imposition of a type of discipline or transfer to disability inactive status
under Enforcement Rule 301(e), and penalties on unpaid taxed expenses and
administrative fees.
(20) To
establish, charge and collect a collection fee for any payment under paragraphs
(18) and (19) that has been returned to the Board unpaid.
(21) To exercise the powers and perform the
duties vested in and imposed upon the Board by law.
(d) The Board shall, to the extent it deems
feasible, consult with officers of local bar associations in the counties
affected concerning any appointment which it is authorized to make under these
rules.
Notes
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