83R2121 KFF-F
By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 1921
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to disciplinary standards and procedures applicable to
grievances alleging certain prosecutorial misconduct.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 81.072, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to
read as follows:
(b) The supreme court shall establish minimum standards and
procedures for the attorney disciplinary and disability system.
The standards and procedures for processing grievances against
attorneys must provide for:
(1) classification of all grievances and
investigation of all complaints;
(2) a full explanation to each complainant on
dismissal of an inquiry or a complaint;
(3) periodic preparation of abstracts of inquiries and
complaints filed that, even if true, do or do not constitute
misconduct;
(4) an information file for each grievance filed;
(5) a grievance tracking system to monitor processing
of grievances by category, method of resolution, and length of time
required for resolution;
(6) notice by the state bar to the parties of a written
grievance filed with the state bar that the state bar has the
authority to resolve of the status of the grievance, at least
quarterly and until final disposition, unless the notice would
jeopardize an undercover investigation;
(7) an option for a trial in a district court on a
complaint and an administrative system for attorney disciplinary
and disability findings in lieu of trials in district court,
including an appeal procedure to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals
and the supreme court under the substantial evidence rule;
(8) an administrative system for reciprocal and
compulsory discipline;
(9) interim suspension of an attorney posing a threat
of immediate irreparable harm to a client;
(10) authorizing all parties to an attorney
disciplinary hearing, including the complainant, to be present at
all hearings at which testimony is taken and requiring notice of
those hearings to be given to the complainant not later than the
seventh day before the date of the hearing;
(11) the commission adopting rules that govern the use
of private reprimands by grievance committees and that prohibit a
committee:
(A) giving an attorney more than one private
reprimand within a five-year period for a violation of the same
disciplinary rule; or
(B) giving a private reprimand for a violation:
(i) that involves a failure to return an
unearned fee, a theft, or a misapplication of fiduciary property;
or
(ii) of a disciplinary rule that requires a
prosecutor to disclose to the defense all evidence or information
known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the
accused or mitigates the offense, including Rule 3.09(d), Texas
Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct; and
(12) distribution of a voluntary survey to all
complainants urging views on grievance system experiences.
(b-1) In establishing minimum standards and procedures for
the attorney disciplinary and disability system under Subsection
(b), the supreme court must ensure that the statute of limitations
applicable to a grievance filed against a prosecutor that alleges a
violation of the disclosure rule does not begin to run until the
date on which a wrongfully imprisoned person is released from a
penal institution.
(b-2) For purposes of Subsection (b-1):
(1) "Disclosure rule" means the disciplinary rule that
requires a prosecutor to disclose to the defense all evidence or
information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt
of the accused or mitigates the offense, including Rule 3.09(d),
Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
(2) "Penal institution" has the meaning assigned by
Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(3) "Wrongfully imprisoned person" has the meaning
assigned by Section 501.101.
SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act but not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas Supreme
Court shall amend the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure to
conform with Section 81.072, Government Code, as amended by this
Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.