Comm. R. XI Chair, Vice Chair, Chief Executive Officer, and Legal Counsel.

A. The Chair shall be elected by a majority of the seated members of the Commission and shall serve a term of one year beginning with the date he or she takes office. No member of the Commission may serve as Chair for more than one year during the member’s four-year term. The Commission shall also elect a Vice-Chair who shall serve as Chair whenever the Chair is absent, recused, or disabled. In addition to the other responsibilities of the Chair as set forth in these rules, the Chair shall preside at meetings and shall decide administrative matters and requests presented to the Commission consistent with its established policies. It shall be the duty of the Vice Chair to review reports on the status of the docket submitted by Special Counsel, and use all reasonable efforts to keep the docket current.

B. The Chief Executive Officer shall have the duty to:

(1) (1) Take any action on behalf of the Commission that is authorized by the Rules of the Louisiana Supreme Court or these rules, including review and signing of subpoenas and notices of hearing;

(2) Attend Commission meetings and be present during deliberations of the Commission;

(3) Advise the Commission with respect to the issuance of notices of hearing, considering investigations, recommendations to the Supreme Court with regard to discipline, and any other matter on which the Commission must make a decision or ruling;

(4) Supervise Special Counsel, Commission Counsel, and Hearing Officer Counsel, as directed by the Chair;

(5) Provide management support in the daily operations of the Commission, the Office of Special Counsel, the Office of Commission Counsel, and the Office of Hearing Officer Counsel, as directed by the Chair; and

(6) Perform such other duties as the Commission may direct.

The Chief Executive Officer shall at all times conduct himself or herself in a dignified manner befitting an officer of the court.

C. The Commission shall have on its staff a Special Counsel, to be engaged primarily in conducting inquiries into, and investigation of complaints submitted to the Commission and the presentation of evidence and arguments to the Commission in cases in which a notice of hearing alleging judicial misconduct or disability has been filed. When the Commission recommends discipline, Special Counsel also presents evidence and arguments to the Supreme Court. The Commission shall also have on its staff a Commission Counsel, whose primary function shall be to advise the Commission with respect to matters coming before the Commission, including those presented by Special Counsel, and to draft written findings of fact and conclusions of law, orders, correspondence, and other documents required by the Commission, and a Hearing Officer Counsel, whose primary function shall be to advise the hearing officers assigned to cases in which a notice of hearing has been filed, with respect to matters coming before them and to draft the hearing officer’s proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, orders, correspondence, and other documents required by the hearing officer.

(1) Special Counsel shall have the duty to:

(a) Receive and screen complaints, conduct preliminary inquiries and recommend dispositions of such complaints to the Commission without further inquiry, and, if authorized by the Commission, conduct full investigations to seek evidence that supports and evidence that disproves the allegations contained in the complaint, make recommendations to the Commission on the disposition of complaints after full investigation, prepare notices of hearing when directed to do so by the Commission, present evidence and arguments in support of the allegations specified in the notice of hearing before the hearing officer (including oral argument, filing of briefs, and the submission of proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law) and before the Commission (including oral argument, filing of briefs and the submission of proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Recommendations for Discipline), and file briefs and other appropriate pleadings for the Commission and orally argue the Commission’s position to the Supreme Court;

(b) Maintain records of the operations of the Special Counsel’s office, including records of complaints, screenings, investigations, and notices of hearing with regard to judicial discipline;

(c) Compile statistics to aid in the administration of Commission business, with respect, but not limited, to (i) logging of all complaints received, (ii) investigative files, and (iii) statistical summaries of docket processing and case disposition. In this regard, Special Counsel shall submit to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission at least quarterly, and more frequently if requested by the Chair or Vice Chair, a list of outstanding matters before the Commission, which list shall include sufficient information to indicate the nature of the pending matter and the status thereof as of the time of the report, including the docketing of complaints described in JCL Rule IV;

(d) Supervise such other attorneys, investigators, and staff as the Supreme Court may provide to the Commission for the Office of Special Counsel; and

(e) Perform such other duties as the Commission may direct.

(2) Special Counsel:

(a) Shall not be present during any deliberations of the Commission with respect to (i) the decision to issue a notice of hearing, (ii) the Commission’s recommendation of discipline to the Supreme Court, or (iii) any other decision pertaining to a particular judge following the filing of a notice of hearing;

(b) Shall not engage in ex parte communications with the Commission as a whole or with any individual Commission member as to a complaint against a judge from the time a notice of hearing is filed and so long as any such matter remains pending before the Commission, except as may be necessary for scheduling purposes; and shall not engage in private communications with individual Commission members about any pending open or investigation files outside of the presence of the full Commission, provided, however, the following communications are authorized: (1) communications concerning a matter in which the Commission member is the complainant, a witness, or the respondent; (2) communications with the Chair or Vice Chair regarding administrative matters; (3) communications authorized by Rule XXIII or elsewhere in these rules; (4) communications expressly authorized by the Commission or the Chief Executive Officer. Both Special Counsel and the members of the Commission shall take all necessary steps to avoid such ex parte communications; and

(c) Shall at all times conduct himself or herself in a dignified manner befitting an officer of the court.

(3) Commission Counsel shall have the duty to:

(a) (i) Advise the Commission with respect to all matters submitted to its members by Special Counsel or others; (ii) be present during deliberations of the Commission and advise the Commission with respect to the issuance of notices of hearing, considering investigations, recommendations to the Supreme Court with regard to discipline, and any other matter on which the Commission must make a decision or ruling; (iii) advise the Commission with respect to policy matters, including drafting rules and policies; (iv) assist the Chair and the Vice Chair in reviewing Special Counsel’s docket reports and in maintaining a current docket; and (v) issue subpoenas, notices, citations, and other process, as described in La. Sup. Ct. Rule XXIII, Sec. 5 and JCL Rule VII;

(b) Put into writing the Commission’s Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law as to Recommendations for Discipline to the Supreme Court, and to draft orders, reports, correspondence, and other documents requested by and on behalf of the Commission;

(c) Draft the minutes of Commission meetings and maintain records of the Commission, other than those created and maintained in the office of Special Counsel and in the office of Hearing Officer Counsel;

(d) Supervise such other staff as the Supreme Court may provide to the Commission for Commission Counsel’s office;

(e) Perform such other duties as the Commission may direct; and

(f) Not engage in ex parte communications with Special Counsel, a respondent judge, the respondent judge’s attorney, the hearing officer, or Hearing Officer Counsel as to a complaint against a judge from the time a notice of hearing is filed and so long as any such matter remains pending before the Commission, except where circumstances require, for scheduling, administrative purposes or emergencies that do not deal with substantive matters or issues on the merits, and provided that Commission Counsel reasonably believes that no party will gain a procedural or tactical advantage as a result of the ex parte communications. Commission Counsel shall take all necessary steps to avoid such ex parte communications.

(4) Commission Counsel shall at all times conduct himself or herself in a dignified manner befitting an officer of the court.

(5) Hearing Officer Counsel shall have the duty to:

(a) (i) Advise the hearing officers assigned to cases in which a notice of hearing has been filed with respect to all matters submitted to them by Special Counsel and the respondent judge; (ii) be present during hearings before hearing officers and advise the hearing officers with respect to all issues associated with such hearings that are within the authority of the hearing officer to decide; (iii) advise the hearing officers with respect to any other matter on which the hearing officer must make a decision or ruling; (iv) advise the hearing officers regarding rules applicable to hearing procedures and the proper conduct of hearing officers, including but not limited to La. Sup. Ct. Rule XXIII, Sec. 29; and (v) issue subpoenas, notices, citations, and other process, as described in La. Sup. Ct. Rule XXIII, Sec. 5, and JCL Rule XVI;

(b) If requested by the hearing officer, draft Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law concerning the allegations of misconduct or disability contained in a notice of hearing, and draft orders, reports, correspondence, and other documents requested by and on behalf of the hearing officers;

(c) Maintain records of cases pending before hearing officers and file such records and the hearing officer’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law with the Commission;

(d) Supervise such other staff as the Supreme Court may provide to the Commission for Hearing Officer Counsel’s office; and

(e) Perform such other duties as the Commission may direct.

(6) Hearing Officer Counsel:

(a) Shall not be present during any deliberations of the Commission with respect to (i) the decision to issue a notice of hearing, (ii) the Commission’s recommendation of discipline to the Supreme Court, or (iii) any other decision pertaining to a particular judge following the filing of a notice of hearing;

(b) Shall not engage in ex parte communications with the Commission as a whole or with any individual Commission member as to a complaint against a judge from the time a notice of hearing is filed and so long as any such matter remains pending before a hearing officer, except, where circumstances require, for scheduling, administrative purposes or emergencies that do not deal with substantive matters or issues on the merits, and provided that Hearing Officer Counsel reasonably believes that no party will gain a procedural or tactical advantage as a result of the ex parte communications. Both Hearing Officer Counsel and the members of the Commission shall take all necessary steps to avoid such ex parte communications.

(c) Shall not engage in ex parte communications with Special Counsel or with the respondent judge and his or her counsel from the time a notice of hearing is filed and so long as any such matter remains pending before a hearing officer, except as may be necessary for scheduling purposes; and

(d) Shall at all times conduct himself or herself in a dignified manner befitting an officer of the court.

(7) The limitations and restrictions set forth in this rule that apply to Special Counsel, Commission Counsel, and Hearing Officer Counsel also apply to all members of their staff.