Rule

4. Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

4.1.       Appointment.

4.2.       Removal.

4.3.       Practice of law.

4.4.       Authority.

4.5.       Expenses.

4.6.       Statistical reporting.

Rule 4. Office of Disciplinary Counsel.
The Supreme Court of Appeals does hereby establish an Office of Disciplinary Counsel to prosecute violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel shall consist of separate Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel and Judicial Disciplinary Counsel. Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel shall be primarily responsible for the investigation of complaints of ethical violations by lawyers. Judicial Disciplinary Counsel shall be primarily responsible for the investigation of complaints of ethical violations by judges. Notwithstanding these primary responsibilities, when circumstances warrant, Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel shall have the authority to investigate and prosecute complaints of ethical violations by judges and Judicial Disciplinary Counsel shall have the authority to investigate and prosecute complaints of ethical violations by lawyers. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel shall be exempt from the payment of filing fee in all proceedings. (Amended by order entered May 6, 1999, effective July 1, 1999.)

Rule 4.1. Appointment.
Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel and Assistant Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel employed on the effective date of these rules shall continue to serve in those positions. Judicial Investigations Commission Counsel employed on the effective date of these rules shall continue to serve as Judicial Disciplinary Counsel. The Lawyer Disciplinary Board shall nominate three candidates for selection by the Supreme Court of Appeals of any successor to the current Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel. The Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel shall select any successors to current Assistant Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel. The Judicial Disciplinary Board shall nominate three candidates for selection by the Supreme Court of Appeals of any successor to the current Judicial Disciplinary Counsel.

Rule 4.2. Removal.
Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel shall not be removed except upon concurrence of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board and the Supreme Court of Appeals. Assistant Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel may be removed by Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel. Judicial Disciplinary Counsel shall not be removed except upon concurrence of the Judicial Investigation Commission and the Supreme Court of Appeals.

Rule 4.3. Practice of law.
Disciplinary Counsel shall be admitted to the practice of law in the State of West Virginia upon the effective date of his or her appointment. Disciplinary Counsel shall not engage in the private practice of law.

Rule 4.4. Authority.
Disciplinary Counsel shall perform all prosecutorial functions and have the authority to (1) receive complaints concerning violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct; (2) review all complaints concerning violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct; (3) investigate information concerning violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct; (4) prosecute violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Rules of Professional Conduct before the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, the Judicial Investigation Commission, the Judicial Hearing Board, and the Supreme Court of Appeals; (5) employ and supervise staff necessary for the performance of prosecutorial functions; (6) notify promptly the complainant and the respondent of the disposition of each matter; (7) notify each jurisdiction in which a lawyer is admitted of the transfer to or from disability, reinstatement, or any public discipline imposed in the State of West Virginia; (8) seek reciprocal discipline when informed of any public discipline imposed in any other jurisdiction; (9) forward a certified copy of the order or judgment of conviction in each jurisdiction in which a lawyer is admitted when the lawyer is convicted of crime reflecting adversely on a lawyer's honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer in other respects; (10) maintain permanent records of discipline and disability matters and compile statistics to aid in the administration of the system, including but not limited to a single log of all complaints received, investigative files, statistical summaries of docket processing and case dispositions, transcripts of all proceedings or audiotapes if not transcribed, and other records as the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, Judicial Investigation Commission, Judicial Hearing Board or the Supreme Court of Appeals require to be maintained; and (11) undertake, pursuant to information provided by the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, Judicial Investigation Commission or the Supreme Court of Appeals, whatever investigations are deemed appropriate.

Rule 4.5. Expenses.
The salaries of Disciplinary Counsel and staff, their expenses, administrative costs, and the expenses of the members of the Lawyer Disciplinary Board, the Judicial Investigation Commission, and Judicial Hearing Board shall be paid from funds contributed by the Supreme Court of Appeals and The West Virginia State Bar. The proportion of funds contributed by the Supreme Court of Appeals and The West Virginia State Bar shall approximate the proportion of judicial disciplinary complaints to lawyer disciplinary complaints. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel shall submit an annual budget to Lawyer Disciplinary Board and the Administrative Director of the Courts detailing the projected revenues and expenses for approval by the Supreme Court of Appeals. An independent audit shall be conducted annually by a certified public accountant of the funds entrusted to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and a copy of such audit shall be filed with the Lawyer Disciplinary Board and the Administrative Director of the Courts.

Rule 4.6. Statistical reporting.
Chief Lawyer Disciplinary Counsel and Judicial Disciplinary Counsel shall each make a separate monthly report to the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Appeals regarding (1) the number of complaints under investigation; (2) the number of complaints pending a probable cause decision; (3) the number of complaints pending a hearing; (4) the number of complaints pending a recommended decision; (5) the number of complaints pending before the Supreme Court of Appeals; (6) the number of complaints filed to date in the current calendar year; (7) the number of complaints closed to date in the current calendar year; (8) the number of complaints in which formal charges have been filed to date in the current calendar year; (9) the number of complaints pending less than six months; (10) the number of complaints pending more than six months, but less than twelve months; (11) the number of complaints pending more than twelve months, but less than eighteen months; (12) the number of complaints pending more than eighteen months, but less than twenty-four months; and (13) the number of complaints pending more than twenty-four months.