Rule XIX Appendix A - Supreme Court Rules

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Rule XIX Appendix A 
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<h3 style="text-align:center;">RULES OF SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA </h3><h4 style="text-align:center;">PART B. ADMINISTRATIVE RULES </h4><div style="text-align:justify;"><h3>RULE XIX APPENDIX A. PROCEDURAL RULES FOR DISCIPLINARY BOARD</h3>Rule 1. Assignment of Disciplinary Board Panel and Briefing SchedulesUpon the filing of the hearing committee report with the disciplinary board in accordance with Rule XIX, Section 11(F), the administrator shall schedule the matter for hearing before a board panel on the schedule set by the board, and shall notify all parties of such setting. Any request for a continuance of the hearing date based upon reasons other than those of an emergency nature must be presented to the panel before whom the hearing is scheduled within ten (10) days of service of the notice of hearing.Rule 2. Briefing DeadlinesAny party having an objection to any aspect of the hearing committee report in a particular matter shall file with the administrator a brief setting forth such objections and the grounds thereof, not less than thirty (30) days before the date on which oral argument is assigned to a board panel. The opposing party may file an answering brief within fifteen (15) days following the filing of the brief which first sets forth the objections.Rule 3. Advance Deposit Requirement for Readmission PetitionsThe conditions set forth in Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 24(B) require that all petitions for reinstatement or readmission must be accompanied by an Advance Cost of Hearing Deposit to cover the anticipated costs of the proceedings unless abated under Section 25. The amount of Five-hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be deposited by petitioner with the board administrator at the time of filing the petition for reinstatement and service of a copy upon disciplinary counsel. The amount includes a One-hundred-dollar ($100.00) nonrefundable docket fee. The balance of the fee shall be applied to the hearing and investigation costs, if any. The petitioner shall be responsible for any costs in excess of the initial deposit. Any monies in excess of the deposited amounts shall be refunded to the petitioner after all expenditures are tabulated.&nbsp;[Amended effective July 1, 2025]Rule 4. Excuse From Payment of Periodic AssessmentA. A lawyer requesting to be excused from payment of the periodic fee assessed by Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 8, on grounds of financial hardship shall file such request with the board by June 1 of the year preceding the fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) for which the fee is assessed. The request shall be signed under oath or affirmation under penalty of perjury by the lawyer seeking to be excused and shall set forth in detail the reasons for the request. Each request shall include a statement of the lawyer&rsquo;s assets at the time submitted and his or her gross and net income from all sources for the year during which the request is made and the calendar year preceding the year during which the request is made.&nbsp;Additional documentation may be required in support of the request.B. A board panel shall promptly approve or deny the request and shall provide written reasons if the request is denied. The board administrator shall notify the requesting lawyer in writing of the action of the panel.C. A decision of a panel to deny a request may be appealed by filing such appeal with the board within 15 days of service of the notice of the panel action. Any such appeal shall be reviewed by a second panel, whose decision shall be final.D. Neither a request for excuse from payment of the assessment nor an appeal from a panel denial shall suspend the obligation to pay the assessment in accordance with Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 8(A). A lawyer may submit a copy of a notice of panel approval of a requested excuse in lieu of the assessment with the registration statement required by Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 8(C). No action by any lawyer or board panel pursuant to this Disciplinary Board rule shall in any way modify the obligation of the lawyer to file the registration statement required by Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 8(C).&nbsp;E. An excuse granted pursuant to this rule shall be effective only for the fee assessed for the year following the filing of the request.F. A request for excuse, written arguments in support of that request, and documents submitted with the request shall be confidential.Rule 5. Signing Orders, Reports, and CommunicationsAny member of a board panel may sign any order, recommendation, report, or communication on behalf of that panel. Any member of the board may sign any order, report, or communication on behalf of the board. The individual signing on behalf of a panel or the board must ensure that all members of the respective entity authorize his or her signing on behalf of the entity.Rule 6. Repealed effective December 17, 1998Rule 7. Recovery of Costs</div>In order to implement Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 10.1, the administrator and disciplinary counsel shall identify and record for each matter filed on the board docket all costs incurred during the investigation of and proceedings in the matter. Recoverable costs shall include the following: a) Investigative costs including costs incurred in serving investigatory subpoenas, direct charges for copies, photocopies and certification of documents and records, direct costs of travel for investigation (at board standard rates), and fees for transcripts of statements; b) A fee of $25.00 for each service of notice issued for the imposition of probation pursuant to Section 11(C), the imposition of an admonition pursuant to Section 11(D) (including any notice to the complainant or other interested party), and the issuance of formal charges pursuant to Section 11(E) plus the direct costs incurred if served by the sheriff or other process server;c) Deposition costs;d) Witness fees, travel, and lodging necessary for the witnesses&rsquo; appearance at the hearing;e) Fees for the hearing transcript;f) Fees for expert witnesses, if determined by the hearing committee chair to be appropriate and necessary for the matter after affording the respondent an opportunity to be heard.g) Fees assessed by the Clerk of the Supreme Court;h) Direct costs incurred (at board standard rates) in transmitting and publishing notices pursuant to Section 17;i) Computerized legal research costs associated with legal research performed by the administrator&rsquo;s and disciplinary counsel&rsquo;s staff;j) Publication costs.Reports of hearing committees and recommendations or rulings of the board shall state whether costs shall be assessed against the lawyer and, if so, to what extent.Within ten (10) days of the submission of the report of the hearing committee, the board administrator shall file in the board record and shall serve on the lawyer a first itemized statement of all costs then incurred in the matter regardless of whether the hearing committee report calls for the assessment of costs against the lawyer.After final ruling or order of the board or court, the board administrator shall file in the board record and shall serve on the respondent a supplemental itemized statement of costs incurred in the following matters:&nbsp;1.	discipline matters where a sanction has been imposed; 2.	reinstatement or readmission matters; 3.	interim suspension matters where a lawyer has been interimly suspended or an order of interim suspension has been dissolved; 4.	disability matters where the lawyer has been transferred to or from disability inactive status; 5.	conditional admission revocation matters where the lawyer&rsquo;s conditional admission has been revoked; and 6.	probation revocation matters where the lawyer&rsquo;s probation has been revoked.Respondent shall have fifteen (15) days following service of the supplemental cost statement to file in the record and to serve on disciplinary counsel any objection to that cost statement. If any objection is filed, the administrator shall refer the cost statement and the objection to a panel of the board&rsquo;s adjudicative committee for oral argument and a ruling on the objection. The board may authorize and direct disciplinary counsel to apply to the Court for a judgment against the respondent for costs imposed. [Amended effective July 1, 2025]<div style="text-align:justify;">Rule 8. Complainants' Appeals Upon receipt of an appeal from a complainant pursuant to Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 30(A), the administrator shall open a record on the board&rsquo;s confidential docket and shall serve a copy of the appeal on disciplinary counsel. Within seven days following service of the appeal by the administrator, disciplinary counsel shall file in the record the following materials from the investigative file:a) Notices issued in accordance with Section 4(B)(6);b) All written requests for review of a dismissal pursuant to Section 11(B)(3);c) All documents submitting any such appeal to a hearing committee;d) All documents constituting a response or a ruling by the hearing committee on the appeal; ande) All notices to the complainant of the disposition by the hearing committee.Upon receipt of the materials filed by disciplinary counsel, the administrator shall refer the appeal to a lawyer member of a board panel. The lawyer member of the panel may require the parties to submit additional information necessary to consider the appeal. The lawyer member of the panel may approve, modify or disapprove the disposition, or direct that the matter be investigated further. The standard of review for complainant appeals of dismissal is whether disciplinary counsel abused his/her discretion in dismissing a complaint.The determination of the board is subject to the provisions of Supreme Court Rule XIX, Section 30(C), regarding the right to petition for leave to appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court.Rule 9. Filing Pleadings and Other Matters with the Boarda) All pleadings, motions, briefs, and memoranda shall be filed with the board.&nbsp;b) All exhibits submitted at hearings before the hearing committees must consist of an original and three copies. The original shall be submitted to the court reporter with a copy of the exhibits submitted to each hearing committee member.c) The administrator will accept pleadings delivered to the board office between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on regular working days. The filing of such papers shall be deemed timely when the papers are mailed on or before the due date. If the papers are received by mail on the first legal day following the expiration of the delay, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that they were timely filed. In all cases where the presumption does not apply, the timeliness of the mailing shall be shown by an official United States postmark or by official receipt or certificate from the United States Postal Service. Pleadings and papers forwarded by private delivery or courier service shall be deemed timely filed only if received by the board on or before the last day of the delay for filing. Matters submitted by other means shall be filed effective as of the date received in the administrator&rsquo;s office.d) Matters may be submitted by facsimile transmission and will be filed effective as of the date received; provided (1) the board will not accept responsibility for equipment malfunction or illegible transmissions, and (2) the filing party shall submit an original and copies as required by paragraph (a) above, promptly following the facsimile transmission.e) All motions filed with the hearing committees and the board shall be accompanied by certificate of counsel for the moving party stating: (1) that counsel conferred in person or by telephone with the opposing party regarding the motion and (2) that opposing counsel either has no objection to said motion or does object to the motion. If the opposing party objects to the motion, a telephone conference will be arranged between the chair of the hearing committee or adjudicative board panel assigned to the case to hear both parties&rsquo; arguments relative to the motion.f) All pleadings, motions, briefs, and memoranda filed with the hearing committees and the board shall contain a certificate of service by the filing party stating that he or she has served the opposing party with the document and by what means the opposing party was served.g) In order to protect privileged and/or confidential information, the parties to a disciplinary matter shall partially redact from all pleadings and exhibits, or otherwise protect from public disclosure, the following information: 1) Social Security numbers. If an individual's Social Security number must be included in a pleading, only the last four digits of that number shall be used. If an individual&rsquo;s Social Security number appears in an exhibit, the number shall be redacted to only show the last four digits. 2) Financial account numbers. If financial account numbers are relevant, only the last four digits of these numbers shall be used in pleadings. Financial account numbers appearing in any manner in exhibits shall be redacted to only show the last four digits. 3) Identities of Crime Victims who are Minors and Victim of Sex Crimes.&nbsp; Pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 46:1844, the identities of crime victims who are minors under the age of eighteen (18) years and the identities of victims of sex crimes shall be protected from public disclosure. The parties to a disciplinary proceeding shall protect this information contained in any pleadings and exhibits in a manner that complies with La.R.S. 46:1844.If a party to a disciplinary proceeding maintains that the unredacted/unprotected version of the information referenced above is critical to the appropriate hearing and determination of the disciplinary matter, the party may file, along with the redacted version, an unredacted/unprotected version of the document under seal pursuant to Louisiana Supreme Court Rule XIX, &sect;16(D). Rule 10. Completing deliberationsIf for any reason a board panel member is unable to complete deliberations in a matter assigned to his/her panel after the oral arguments have taken place due to death, disability or suspension from the practice of law, the remaining members shall continue its deliberations in order to bring the matter to a conclusion.&nbsp;Rule 11. Recusal of Hearing Committee and Board MembersPursuant to Sections 2(F) and 3(F) of Rule XIX, a hearing committee member or an adjudicative committee member shall recuse him or herself in any matter in which a judge, similarly situated, would be required to recuse. A party seeking to recuse a hearing committee member or an adjudicative committee member shall file a written motion with the disciplinary board stating the grounds for recusal.1) Recusal of Hearing Committee Members.&nbsp;Motions to recuse hearing committee members shall be filed within ten (10) days of service of the first notice of the hearing committee members assigned to the matter. The chairperson of the adjudicative committee shall decide the motion. The chairperson of the adjudicative committee may rule on the motion or, in his discretion, refer the motion to a hearing committee chairperson for a hearing and recommendation. If a hearing is ordered, the chairperson of the adjudicative committee shall review the recommendation of the hearing committee chairperson and issue a ruling.2) Recusal of Adjudicative Committee Members.&nbsp;Motions to recuse adjudicative committee members shall be filed within ten (10) days of service of notice of oral argument. The chairperson of the adjudicative committee shall decide the motion. The chairperson of the adjudicative committee may hold a hearing in his discretion. If the chairperson of the adjudicative committee is the subject of the motion, the board administrator shall assign the motion to another lawyer member of the adjudicative committee.3) Untimely Motions.&nbsp;If a motion to recuse is not timely filed, untimeliness shall be a factor in deciding whether the motion should be granted.</div>
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