Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB825 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Whitmire, et al. S.B. No. 825
2	2	(Thompson of Harris)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to disciplinary standards and procedures applicable to
8	8	grievances alleging certain prosecutorial misconduct.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 81.072, Government Code, is amended by
11	11	amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(b) The supreme court shall establish minimum standards and
14	14	procedures for the attorney disciplinary and disability system.
15	15	The standards and procedures for processing grievances against
16	16	attorneys must provide for:
17	17	(1) classification of all grievances and
18	18	investigation of all complaints;
19	19	(2) a full explanation to each complainant on
20	20	dismissal of an inquiry or a complaint;
21	21	(3) periodic preparation of abstracts of inquiries and
22	22	complaints filed that, even if true, do or do not constitute
23	23	misconduct;
24	24	(4) an information file for each grievance filed;
25	25	(5) a grievance tracking system to monitor processing
26	26	of grievances by category, method of resolution, and length of time
27	27	required for resolution;
28	28	(6) notice by the state bar to the parties of a written
29	29	grievance filed with the state bar that the state bar has the
30	30	authority to resolve of the status of the grievance, at least
31	31	quarterly and until final disposition, unless the notice would
32	32	jeopardize an undercover investigation;
33	33	(7) an option for a trial in a district court on a
34	34	complaint and an administrative system for attorney disciplinary
35	35	and disability findings in lieu of trials in district court,
36	36	including an appeal procedure to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals
37	37	and the supreme court under the substantial evidence rule;
38	38	(8) an administrative system for reciprocal and
39	39	compulsory discipline;
40	40	(9) interim suspension of an attorney posing a threat
41	41	of immediate irreparable harm to a client;
42	42	(10) authorizing all parties to an attorney
43	43	disciplinary hearing, including the complainant, to be present at
44	44	all hearings at which testimony is taken and requiring notice of
45	45	those hearings to be given to the complainant not later than the
46	46	seventh day before the date of the hearing;
47	47	(11) the commission adopting rules that govern the use
48	48	of private reprimands by grievance committees and that prohibit a
49	49	committee:
50	50	(A) giving an attorney more than one private
51	51	reprimand within a five-year period for a violation of the same
52	52	disciplinary rule; or
53	53	(B) giving a private reprimand for a violation:
54	54	(i) that involves a failure to return an
55	55	unearned fee, a theft, or a misapplication of fiduciary property;
56	56	or
57	57	(ii) of a disciplinary rule that requires a
58	58	prosecutor to disclose to the defense all evidence or information
59	59	known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt of the
60	60	accused or mitigates the offense, including Rule 3.09(d), Texas
61	61	Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct; and
62	62	(12) distribution of a voluntary survey to all
63	63	complainants urging views on grievance system experiences.
64	64	(b-1) In establishing minimum standards and procedures for
65	65	the attorney disciplinary and disability system under Subsection
66	66	(b), the supreme court must ensure that the statute of limitations
67	67	applicable to a grievance filed against a prosecutor that alleges a
68	68	violation of the disclosure rule does not begin to run until the
69	69	date on which a wrongfully imprisoned person is released from a
70	70	penal institution.
71	71	(b-2) For purposes of Subsection (b-1):
72	72	(1) "Disclosure rule" means the disciplinary rule that
73	73	requires a prosecutor to disclose to the defense all evidence or
74	74	information known to the prosecutor that tends to negate the guilt
75	75	of the accused or mitigates the offense, including Rule 3.09(d),
76	76	Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
77	77	(2) "Penal institution" has the meaning assigned by
78	78	Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure.
79	79	(3) "Wrongfully imprisoned person" has the meaning
80	80	assigned by Section 501.101.
81	81	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
82	82	of this Act but not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas Supreme
83	83	Court shall amend the Texas Rules of Disciplinary Procedure to
84	84	conform with Section 81.072, Government Code, as amended by this
85	85	Act.
86	86	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.