(a) A person seeking to appeal an order that imposes a penalty or sanction must submit a written appeal of the order to the General Counsel of the Office within 30 days after the Commission's order is issued. The General Counsel must promptly forward the appeal to a special committee consisting of three Administrative Regional Presiding Judges.(b) The committee will be chosen by the Presiding Judges, but the committee must not include the Presiding Judge for the administrative region in which the appellant resided at the time of the decision. If the alleged violation involves a certified guardian, the committee must consist of two Regional Presiding Judges and the Presiding Judge of the statutory probate courts.(c) The General Counsel must notify the Commission of the filing of an appeal and, upon request, must make the appeal materials available to the Commission or its legal representative.(d) The appeal must contain: (1) a copy of the notice of the Commission's order with which the appellant is dissatisfied; and(2) a statement succinctly explaining why the appellant is dissatisfied with the Commission's decision.(e) The Office must adopt rules or policies to ensure that any Office employee who provides clerical, administrative, or other direct support to the Commission does not communicate regarding the substance of any appeal under this rule with any other Office employee who facilitates the appeal process under this rule. The rules or policies must also provide that Office employees may communicate regarding nonsubstantive aspects of appeals, such as to ensure the completeness and accuracy of appeal materials to be forwarded to the special committee.(f) Upon receiving notice of an appeal of a disciplinary action imposing a penalty or sanction, the Commission must provide to the General Counsel, and the General Counsel must submit to the special committee, electronic or paper copies of the complaint and any original attachments, any written answer timely submitted by the appellant, notice of the Commission's decision imposing a penalty or sanction, and any other documents or written evidence admitted into the record by the Commission pertaining to the decision complained of on appeal. The Commission staff must provide a copy of these items to an appellant upon request, and may charge costs for such copies as set forth in Rule 12.7 of the Rules of Judicial Administration.(g) Absent approval by the special committee, submission of materials other than those described in (f) is prohibited. The special committee may, in its sole discretion, allow an appellant to submit additional written materials relating to the appeal. Otherwise, only the written materials described in (f) will be considered. A request to submit additional materials must clearly identify the additional materials for which inclusion is requested. (h) The special committee must consider the appeal under an abuse of discretion standard of review for all issues except issues involving questions of law. The standard of review for issues involving questions of law is de novo. Under either standard, the burden is on the appellant to establish that the Commission's decision was erroneous.(i) The special committee may consider the appeal without a hearing and may conduct its deliberations by any appropriate means. The special committee may, in its sole discretion, conduct a hearing and allow testimony from the appellant or any other person with knowledge of the underlying facts relating to the disciplinary action complained of.(j) The special committee may confer in writing with a certification, registration, or license holder who is in the same profession as the appellant if the special committee provides to the appellant:(1) notice of the special committee's request for information; and(2) a copy of the certification, registration, or license holder's response.(k) If the special committee sustains the finding that a violation occurred, the special committee may: (1) uphold or reduce the amount of any penalty and order the appellant to pay the full or reduced amount of the penalty; and(2) uphold or reduce any sanction and order the imposition of the sanction.(l) If the special committee does not sustain the finding that a violation occurred, the special committee must order that a penalty is not owed and that a sanction may not be imposed.(m) If the appellant paid the penalty and if the amount of the penalty is reduced or the penalty is not upheld by the special committee, the special committee must order that the appropriate amount plus accrued interest be remitted to the appellant not later than the 30th day after the date the judgment of the special committee becomes final. The interest accrues at the rate charged on loans to depository institutions by the New York Federal Reserve Bank. The interest must be paid for the period beginning on the date the penalty is paid and ending on the date the penalty is remitted.(n) The special committee must notify the Commission and appellant in writing of its decision. No rehearing or further appeal is allowed.Tex. R. Judi. Cert. Commi. 5.13
Amended effective 4/12/2018 immediately.