Rule 8 Judicial Discipline Proceedings

A. If a report by the Committee pursuant to Rule 3 involves a judge or justice of the Superior Court, the District Court, or a Probate Court, any further proceedings shall be before the Supreme Judicial Court. The Chief Justice or in the Chief Justice’s absence the senior Associate Justice member of the Supreme Judicial Court shall be responsible for conducting any procedural events and issuing any procedural orders that do not involve an adjudication of any substantive issues. If the matter involves disputed issues of fact, the Supreme Judicial Court shall designate one of its members as a hearing officer. The panel that decides the matter consists of the remaining active members of the Court who are available to serve, and active retired members may serve if necessary to constitute a panel of at least five.

B. If a report by the Committee pursuant to Rule 3 involves a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, the other members of the Supreme Judicial Court shall not participate. The Executive Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court shall forward the report to the Chief Justice of the Superior Court and the Chief Judge of the District Court for them to select a hearing officer and the panel that decides the matter. The panel shall consist of five jurists. The hearing officer and the panel shall be selected from the active retired judges and justices of both trial courts and the five most senior active judges of each trial court who are available to serve. Seniority shall be based on time in active service as a member of the active judge’s or justice’s current court, not on total service in the Judicial Branch. The hearing officer shall conduct any procedural events and issue any procedural orders that do not involve an adjudication of any substantive issue.

C. In any proceeding under paragraphs A and B, the Committee shall have the burden to prove one or more of the violations of the Maine Code of Judicial Conduct that are alleged in the Committee’s report. If the reported matter does not involve disputed issues of material fact, the matter shall be submitted to the panel based on a stipulated record and stipulated statement of facts. Otherwise, the following procedure applies:

(i) The hearing officer shall conduct an evidentiary hearing and rule on all issues arising before, during, or after the hearing. Evidence at any evidentiary hearing shall be admitted if it is of a kind upon which reasonable persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, with guidance from the Maine Rules of Evidence. After the hearing record is closed, the hearing officer shall issue a recommended decision, including findings of fact, conclusions of law, and a recommended disposition.

(ii) The hearing officer shall not participate in the panel’s review and ruling on the hearing officer’s recommended disposition. Panel members other than the hearing officer shall review the recommended decision. The panel’s review of findings of fact shall be for clear error and its review of conclusions of law shall be de novo.

(iii) If the panel concludes that no violation of the Code has been proved by a preponderance of the evidence, or that the violation is not of a sufficiently serious nature as to warrant formal disciplinary action, the panel shall dismiss the report and may also refer the matter to the Committee for informal correction if appropriate. If the panel concludes that a violation warrants formal disciplinary action, the panel may impose upon the judicial officer who is the subject of the report any one or more of the forms of discipline permitted by law, such as admonishment, reprimand, suspension, fine and probation. A divided decision need not identify how panel members voted.

D. A decision rendered by a panel of the Supreme Judicial Court pursuant to paragraph A is final. A decision rendered by a panel of trial court judicial officers pursuant to paragraph B may be appealed to the Supreme Judicial Court solely on issues of law. See M.R. App. P. 2A, 2B.