| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to complaints submitted to and sanctions issued by the |
|
|
State Commission on Judicial Conduct. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 33.0211(a), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) The commission shall maintain a file on each written |
|
|
complaint filed with the commission. The file must include: |
|
|
(1) the name of the person who filed the complaint; |
|
|
(2) a sworn statement from the person who filed the |
|
|
complaint attesting that the contents of the complaint are true to |
|
|
the best of the person's knowledge; |
|
|
(3) the date the complaint is received by the |
|
|
commission; |
|
|
(4) [(3)] the subject matter of the complaint; |
|
|
(5) [(4)] the name of each person contacted in |
|
|
relation to the complaint; |
|
|
(6) [(5)] a summary of the results of the review or |
|
|
investigation of the complaint; and |
|
|
(7) [(6)] an explanation of the reason the file was |
|
|
closed, if the commission closed the file without taking action |
|
|
other than to investigate the complaint. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Sections 33.034(a), (e), and (i), Government |
|
|
Code, are amended to read as follows: |
|
|
(a) A judge who receives from the commission a public |
|
|
sanction or censure issued by the commission under Section 1-a(8), |
|
|
Article V, Texas Constitution, or any other type of public |
|
|
sanction, including a public admonition or warning, is entitled to |
|
|
a review of the commission's decision as provided by this section. |
|
|
This section does not apply to a decision by the commission to |
|
|
institute formal proceedings. |
|
|
(e) The review by the court under this section[: |
|
|
[(1)] of a sanction or censure issued in a formal or |
|
|
informal proceeding is a review of the record of the proceedings |
|
|
that resulted in the sanction or censure and is based on the law and |
|
|
facts that were presented in the proceedings and any additional |
|
|
evidence that the court in its discretion may, for good cause shown, |
|
|
permit[; and |
|
|
[(2) of a sanction issued in an informal proceeding is |
|
|
by trial de novo as that term is used in the appeal of cases from |
|
|
justice to county court]. |
|
|
(i) The court's decision under this section is only [not] |
|
|
appealable by the commission to the supreme court. |
|
|
SECTION 3. Section 33.037, Government Code, is amended to |
|
|
read as follows: |
|
|
Sec. 33.037. SUSPENSION PENDING APPEAL OR FORMAL |
|
|
PROCEEDINGS. (a) If a judge who is convicted of a felony or a |
|
|
misdemeanor involving official misconduct appeals the conviction, |
|
|
the commission shall suspend the judge from office without pay |
|
|
pending final disposition of the appeal. |
|
|
(b) If the commission has initiated formal proceedings |
|
|
against a judge, 10 days after the appointment of a special master, |
|
|
the commission shall suspend the judge from office without pay |
|
|
pending final disposition of the formal proceedings unless the |
|
|
special master recommends against suspension. |
|
|
SECTION 4. Section 74.055(c), Government Code, is amended |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(c) To be eligible to be named on the list, a retired or |
|
|
former judge must: |
|
|
(1) have served as an active judge for at least 96 |
|
|
months in a district, statutory probate, statutory county, or |
|
|
appellate court; |
|
|
(2) have developed substantial experience in the |
|
|
judge's area of specialty; |
|
|
(3) not have been removed from office; |
|
|
(4) certify under oath to the presiding judge, on a |
|
|
form prescribed by the state board of regional judges, that: |
|
|
(A) the judge has never been publicly reprimanded |
|
|
or censured by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct; [and] |
|
|
(B) the judge has not received more than one |
|
|
public sanction, including a public admonition or warning, from the |
|
|
State Commission on Judicial Conduct that was determined to be |
|
|
warranted by a court of review under Section 33.034; and |
|
|
(C) the judge: |
|
|
(i) did not resign or retire from office |
|
|
after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified the judge |
|
|
of the commencement of a full investigation into an allegation or |
|
|
appearance of misconduct or disability of the judge as provided in |
|
|
Section 33.022 and before the final disposition of that |
|
|
investigation; or |
|
|
(ii) if the judge did resign from office |
|
|
under circumstances described by Subparagraph (i), was not publicly |
|
|
reprimanded or censured as a result of the investigation; |
|
|
(5) annually demonstrate that the judge has completed |
|
|
in the past state fiscal year the educational requirements for |
|
|
active district, statutory probate, and statutory county court |
|
|
judges; and |
|
|
(6) certify to the presiding judge a willingness not |
|
|
to appear and plead as an attorney in any court in this state for a |
|
|
period of two years. |
|
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |