THE COURTS
Title 204—JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS
PART V. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT
[ 204 PA. CODE CH. 85 ]
Amendments to Rules of Organization and Procedure of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania; Order No. 100
[51 Pa.B. 781]
[Saturday, February 13, 2021]By this Order, the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania amends its Board Rules and Procedures to modify Rule § 85.10 related to stale matters.
The Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania finds that:
(1) To the extent that 42 Pa.C.S. § 1702 (relating to rule making procedures) and Article II of the act of July 31, 1968 (P.L. 769, No. 240), known as the Commonwealth Documents Law, would otherwise require notice of proposed rulemaking with respect to the amendments adopted hereby, those proposed rulemaking procedures are inapplicable because the amendments adopted hereby relate to agency procedure and are perfunctory in nature.
(2) The amendments to the Rules of Organization and Procedure of the Board adopted hereby are not inconsistent with the Pennsylvania Rules of Disciplinary Enforcement and are necessary and appropriate for the administration of the affairs of the Board.
The Board, acting pursuant to Pa.R.D.E. 205(c)(12), orders:
(1) Title 204 of the Pennsylvania Code is hereby amended as set forth in Annex A hereto.
(2) The Executive Director shall duly certify this Order, and deposit the same with the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts as required by Pa.R.J.A. 103(c).
(3) The amendments adopted hereby shall take effect 30 days after publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
By the Disciplinary Board of the
Supreme Court of PennsylvaniaJESSE G. HEREDA,
Executive Director
Annex A
TITLE 204. JUDICIAL SYSTEM GENERAL PROVISIONS
PART V. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND CONDUCT
Subpart C. DISCIPLINARY BOARD OF THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
CHAPTER 85. GENERAL PROVISIONS § 85.10. Stale matters.
(a) General rule. The Office of Disciplinary Counsel or the Board shall not entertain any complaint arising out of acts or omissions occurring more than four years prior to the date of the complaint, except as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Exceptions. [The four year limitation in subsection (a) shall:]
(1) [Not] The four year limitation in subsection (a) shall not apply in cases involving theft or misappropriation, conviction of a crime or a knowing act of concealment.
(2) [Be tolled during any period when there has been litigation pending that] When litigation has resulted in a finding that the subject acts or omissions involved civil fraud, ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct by the respondent-attorney, a complaint may be entertained if filed or opened within: (i) four years of the subject acts or omissions; or (ii) two years after the litigation in which the finding was made becomes final, whichever date is later.
(c) Litigation ''becomes final'' within the meaning of subsection (b)(2)(ii) at the conclusion of direct or collateral review, including discretionary review in the Supreme Court of the United States and the highest state court, or at the expiration of time for seeking the review.
Official Note: Litigation resulting in a finding of civil fraud, ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct is not a prerequisite to Office of Disciplinary Counsel's or the Board's entertaining a complaint involving one of those three forms of misconduct, and subsection (b)(2) should not be read to impose such a requirement.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 21-223. Filed for public inspection February 12, 2021, 9:00 a.m.]
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