9 Rule 21 Attorneys Convicted of a Crime

A. Transmittal of Certificate of Conviction by Clerk of Trial Court. The clerk of any court in this state in which a lawyer is convicted of a crime shall within ten (10) days of the conviction transmit a certificate of conviction to disciplinary counsel who will so advise the Board.

B. Determination of “Serious Crime.” Upon being advised that a lawyer subject to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Court has been convicted of a crime, disciplinary counsel shall determine whether the crime constitutes a “serious crime” warranting immediate interim suspension. If the crime is a “serious crime,” disciplinary counsel shall prepare a proposed order for interim suspension and forward it to the Court and the respondent, together with a certificate of the conviction. Disciplinary counsel shall then file formal charges against the respondent predicated upon the conviction. On or before the date established for entry of the order of interim suspension the lawyer may assert any jurisdictional deficiency that establishes that the suspension may not properly be ordered, such as that the crime did not constitute a “serious crime” or that the lawyer is not the individual convicted. If the crime is not a “serious crime,” disciplinary counsel shall process the matter like any other information coming to the attention of the Professional Responsibility Program.

C. Definition of a “Serious Crime.” A “serious crime” is any felony or lesser crime that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a lawyer in other respects, or any crime a necessary element of which, as determined by the statutory or common law definition of the crime, involves interference with the administration of justice, false swearing, misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, bribery, extortion, misappropriation, theft or an attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation of another to commit a “serious crime.”

D. Immediate Interim Suspension. The Court has exclusive power to place a lawyer on interim suspension.

(1) Imposition. The Court shall place a lawyer on interim suspension immediately upon proof that the lawyer has been convicted of a serious crime regardless of the pendency of any appeal.

(2) Termination. The Court has exclusive power to terminate an interim suspension. In the interest of justice, the Court may terminate an interim suspension at any time upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances, after affording disciplinary counsel notice and an opportunity to be heard.

E. Certificate of Conviction Conclusive. A certificate of a conviction of an attorney for any crime shall be conclusive evidence of that crime in any disciplinary proceeding instituted against the lawyer based upon the conviction.

F. Automatic Reinstatement from Interim Suspension upon Reversal of Conviction. If a lawyer suspended solely under the provisions of paragraph D demonstrates that the underlying conviction has been reversed or vacated, the order for interim suspension shall be vacated and the lawyer placed on active status. The vacating of the interim suspension will not automatically terminate any formal proceeding then pending against the lawyer, the disposition of which shall be determined by the hearing panel on the basis of the available evidence other than conviction.

G. Notice to Clients and Others on Interim Suspension. An interim suspension under this rule shall constitute a suspension of the lawyer for the purpose of Rule 27.