A.Selection. The Investigative Panel shall select a Director, who shall be an active status member of the State Bar of Georgia and shall not engage in the practice of law, other than to represent the Commission, and shall not serve in a judicial capacity. See OCGA § 15-1-21(e) (2) (C). The Director shall not be removed from office except by majority vote of the Investigative Panel. In the event of a vacancy, the Investigative Panel may delegate the Director's powers and duties to another of its staff or to one or more of its members until a new Director is selected. In the event the Director recuses from a specific matter, an individual shall be selected by the Investigative Panel to serve as special counsel to fill the role of Director for that specific matter. An individual selected to serve as special counsel in the event of the Director's recusal shall be an active status member of the State Bar of Georgia and shall not simultaneously serve in a judicial capacity but shall be allowed to engage in the practice of law outside of representing the Commission.B.Powers and Duties. The Director shall have the duty and authority to: (1) receive and screen complaints, refer complaints to other agencies when appropriate, conduct preliminary investigations, recommend to the Investigative Panel and upon authorization conduct full investigations, notify complainants about the status and disposition of their complaints, make recommendations to the Investigative Panel on the disposition of complaints, file formal charges when directed to do so by the Investigative Panel, prosecute formal charges, file notices of exceptions to the findings, conclusions, recommendations for sanctions, or orders of dismissal of the Hearing Panel, and brief and argue matters on review by the Supreme Court;(2) maintain records of the operations of the Commission, including minutes of Investigative Panel meetings and receipt of complaints, screening, investigation, and filing of formal charges in judicial discipline and incapacity matters, subject to the requirements of Rule 18;(3) compile statistics to aid in the administration of the system, including but not limited to a log of all complaints received, investigative files, and statistical summaries of docket processing and case dispositions;(4) prepare the Commission's budget for submission to the Investigative Panel and administer the funds;(5) employ, with the Investigative Panel's approval, and supervise other members of the Investigative Panel's staff;(6) employ, with the Investigative Panel's approval, and supervise investigators or experts as necessary to investigate and process matters before the Investigative Panel, the Hearing Panel, and the Supreme Court; and(7) perform other duties at the direction of the Investigative Panel.R. Judi. Qual. Commi. Ga. 4
Adopted effective 1/1/2018; amended effective 2/3/2023.Commentary
[1] Except as provided in Rule 28.B (2), the Director and the Investigative Panel's other staff must not participate in the Hearing Panel's deliberations, draft decisions, orders, or other documents, or otherwise serve as legal counsel to the Hearing Panel. To the extent the Hearing Panel requires legal or support staff assistance not available from its members, it should contract for the necessary support personnel.
[2] Judicial investigations and prosecutions should be conducted by the Director under the authority of the Investigative Panel. The Director should not use active law enforcement officials or staff to investigate complaints or present cases.