BPR Considers Rules Changes, Adjusts Operations

May 19, 2020

On May 18, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals Board on Professional Responsibility issued two orders, one seeking public comment on proposed amendments to its Rules, the other announcing adjustments to its operations in light of the COVID-19 crisis.  

Proposed Rule Amendments 

In Administrative Order 2020-4, the Board issued notice that it is considering proposed changes to its Rules that would significantly amend the procedure for hearing witnesses remotely, define previously undefined terms, clarify some procedural matters relating to disciplinary investigations, amend sections relating to the mitigation of sanctions for disability or addiction, expand the scope of prehearing conferences, indicate who rules in challenges to Hearing Committee members, address the summary adjudication of moral turpitude cases, and fix some typographical errors. 

Interested parties can submit written comments by email to [email protected] by June 8, 2020. All comments will be publicly available. 

The full text of the order can be found here.  

Adjusted Operations 

Administrative Order 2020-5 announced that the Board and its Hearing Committees will not hold in-person proceedings prior to July 1, 2020. 

However, having determined that the Board has the technical capacity to conduct proceedings remotely, it will now permit limited hearings by videoconference in negotiated discipline cases. Telephonic prehearing proceedings shall continue. Parties with oral arguments before the Board can, by joint motion, request that it consider a matter on the briefs and the record, in lieu of oral argument.  

The order does not extend any deadlines of any other matters pending before the Board or any of its Hearing Committees. 

The full text of the order can be found here.