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PA Bulletin, Doc. No. 96-2176

THE COURTS

Title 204--JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS

PART V.  PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT

[204 PA. CODE CH. 83]

Amendment to the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement Relating to Notice of Involuntary Commitments of Attorneys; Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

[26 Pa.B. 6178]

   Notice is hereby given that The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is considering recommending to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania that it amend the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement, as set forth in Annex A, to change the time within which Disciplinary Counsel is to be notified that an attorney has been declared incompetent or involuntarily committed.

   Rule 301(a) of the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement currently provides that the clerk of any court within Pennsylvania in which an attorney is declared incompetent or is involuntarily committed to an institution on the grounds of incompetency or disability must notify Disciplinary Counsel within 20 days of that disposition so that Disciplinary Counsel may, in turn, notify the Supreme Court so that the Court may transfer the attorney to inactive status. The Board has encountered situations in which the 20-day delay has compromised the Board's ability to protect the public from continued practice by the incompetent attorney, and thus the Board is proposing a significantly shortened notice period of 24 hours so that the Board is in a position to move quickly to have the attorney transferred to inactive status. The Board believes that notice to Disciplinary Counsel can be made part of the process of entering the order declaring the attorney incompetent or committing the attorney, and that the shortened notice period should thus not present a problem for the clerks of the courts.

   Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed amendment to the Office of the Secretary, The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, First Floor, Two Lemoyne Drive, Lemoyne, PA 17043, on or before January 17, 1997.

By The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of
   Pennsylvania

ELAINE BIXLER,   
Secretary

Annex A

TITLE 204.  JUDICIAL SYSTEM
GENERAL PROVISIONS

PART V.  PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT

Subpart B.  DISCIPLINARY ENFORCEMENT

CHAPTER 83.  PENNSYLVANIA RULES OF DISCIPLINARY ENFORCEMENT

Subchapter C.  DISABILITY AND RELATED MATTERS

Rule 301.  Proceedings where an attorney is declared to be incompetent or is alleged to be incapacitated.

   (a)  The clerk of any court within this Commonwealth in which an attorney is declared incompetent or is involuntarily committed to an institution on the grounds of incompetency or disability shall within [20 days] 24 hours of such disposition transmit a certificate thereof to Disciplinary Counsel, who shall file such certificate with the Supreme Court.

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[Pa.B. Doc. No. 96-2176. Filed for public inspection December 27, 1996, 9:00 a.m.]


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