§ 8-16-1. Composition — Appointment. (a) There is hereby created a commission to be known as the commission on judicial tenure and discipline, hereinafter referred to as the commission. The commission shall consist of sixteen (16) members: three (3) of whom shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, […]
§ 8-16-10. Disqualification from acting as a commissioner. (a) No judge who is a member of the commission or of the supreme court shall participate as a member of the commission or the supreme court in any proceeding regarding his or her removal, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, reprimand, retirement, or censure. (b) No member of […]
§ 8-16-11. Papers and testimony privileged. The filing of papers with or the giving of testimony before the commission or supreme court shall be privileged in any action for defamation. No other publication of such papers or proceedings shall be so privileged, except any record, pleading, or brief filed by the commission in the supreme […]
§ 8-16-12. Rules of practice and procedure — Confidentiality of proceedings. The supreme court shall make and promulgate rules governing the practice and procedure under this chapter before the commission, and the supreme court shall insure the confidentiality of all proceedings involving complaints against a member of the judiciary, except for those proceedings that are […]
§ 8-16-13. Closed meetings of the commission — Public hearings — Evidence to remain confidential until made public at hearing. The commission is hereby expressly authorized and permitted to conduct closed meetings for the conduct of all of its business other than public hearings held pursuant to § 8-16-4(c). All evidence obtained by the commission, […]
§ 8-16-13.1. Related judicial proceedings — Confidentiality. Judicial proceedings in aid of or ancillary to a public hearing of the commission shall be open to the public, and all papers filed in connection with such judicial proceedings shall be public documents. All other judicial proceedings in aid of or ancillary to a commission proceeding, and […]
§ 8-16-14. Reasonable counsel fees. Any judge who has been complained against under the provisions of this chapter and who has engaged the services of counsel to respond to the complaint, and where the complaint has been dismissed by the commission, shall be entitled to have his or her reasonable counsel fees paid by the […]
§ 8-16-2. Terms of the commissioners. Except as otherwise provided, the members of the commission shall serve for terms of three (3) years; provided, however, that the initial appointments shall be so staggered that one of each class of members so appointed shall serve for a term of one year, one for two (2) years, […]
§ 8-16-3. Meetings of the commission — Compensation. (a) The commission shall meet at such times and places as are necessary to discharge the duties made incumbent upon it under the provisions of this chapter. It shall meet at least once a year in the month of May and shall make an annual report of […]
§ 8-16-4. Employment of personnel — Investigation of unfitness. (a) The commission is empowered hereby to engage the services of legal, secretarial, clerical, and investigative employees and to make such other expenditures as are necessary for the effective performance of its functions. (b) The commission, upon receiving from any person a verified statement, not unfounded […]
§ 8-16-4.1. Subpoena powers of commission. The members of the commission are hereby severally authorized and empowered to administer oaths; and the commission, in all cases of every nature pending before it, is hereby authorized and empowered to summon and examine witnesses and to compel the production and examination of papers, books, accounts, documents, records, […]
§ 8-16-4.2. Discovery. After the commission institutes formal proceedings and schedules a public hearing, the commission and the judge shall be entitled to conduct discovery in the same manner as litigants in civil cases in the superior court, and the superior court rules of civil procedure shall govern all such discovery. Except as provided in […]
§ 8-16-4.3. Compelling evidence in commission proceedings — Immunity. Whenever a witness refuses, on the basis of his or her privilege against self-incrimination, to answer a question or to produce other evidence of any kind during a preliminary investigation or at a deposition or at a public hearing, the chairperson may, upon a majority vote […]
§ 8-16-5. Certification of recommendations to supreme court. Whenever the commission shall make a determination recommending the reprimand, censure, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a member of the judiciary, it shall file forthwith a copy of the recommendation, certified by the chairperson, together with the transcript and the findings and conclusions, with […]
§ 8-16-6. Review of commission’s recommendations by supreme court. (a) The supreme court may on its own motion and shall upon petition of a judge who has been adversely affected by a recommendation of the commission review the record of the commission’s proceedings on the law and on the facts and may, for the purposes […]
§ 8-16-6.1. Suspension of judge pending review. Whenever the supreme court reviews a commission recommendation for the suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a judge other than a justice of the supreme court, the commission may, in its discretion, order the suspension of the judge pending the completion of the review. The suspension […]
§ 8-16-7. Power of the supreme court to discipline, suspend, or remove judges. (a) Whenever the commission shall have recommended reprimand, censure, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a judge from office and filed its findings and recommendations with the chief justice of the supreme court, and those recommendations have been affirmed or […]
§ 8-16-7.1. Confidentiality of supreme court review of recommendation of private reprimand. Notwithstanding the provisions of §§ 8-16-6 and 8-16-7, all papers filed with, proceedings before, and decisions of the supreme court on review of a commission recommendation of a private reprimand pursuant to § 8-16-4(d) shall be kept confidential. History of Section.P.L. 1987, ch. […]
§ 8-16-8. Discipline of judges upon indictment or conviction for a crime. (a) The supreme court on its own motion shall suspend, pending the prosecution of an appeal, any judge of any court when it is shown by the certified record of a court of competent jurisdiction that he or she either pleaded guilty or […]
§ 8-16-9. Retirement of judges for incapacity or disability. (a) Whenever the commission shall, after investigation and hearing, determine that a judge has a physical or mental disability that seriously interfered and will continue to interfere with the performance of his or her duties, it may recommend to the supreme court the retirement of the […]
