Rule 35.4 - Procedure upon receipt of complaint(1) Upon receiving a complaint, the assistant director for attorney discipline must evaluate all information coming to his or her attention from the complaint or from any other sources alleging attorney misconduct or incapacity. The assistant director is authorized to decline to open an investigation of a complaint if the information, if true, would not constitute misconduct or incapacity or if the complaint is facially frivolous, stale, lacking in adequate factual detail, duplicative, outside the disciplinary board's jurisdiction, or does not otherwise reasonably warrant investigation. The disciplinary board may adopt policies to guide the assistant director in the exercise of this authority.(2) The disciplinary board must make a record indicating the date on which the complaint was filed, the name and address of the complainant, the name and address of the respondent, and a brief statement of the charges made. This record ultimately must show the final disposition of the matter when it is completed.(3) The disciplinary board must keep all files confidential, unless the board chair or the chair's designee otherwise provides or directs in writing for disciplinary purposes or pursuant to a specific supreme court rule. All files must be available for examination and reproduction by the designated officer or agent of the Client Security Commission, pursuant to proceedings under chapter 39 of the Iowa Court Rules.(4) Any such files, except for the work product of staff counsel, investigators, or assistant directors of the disciplinary board, must be provided to the respondent within a reasonable time upon the respondent's request. For purposes of this rule, "work product" does not include a written statement signed or otherwise adopted or approved by the person making it or a contemporaneous and substantially verbatim transcript or recording of a person's oral statement.(5) A potential complaint declined pursuant to this rule may not be deemed a complaint for any purpose. A potential complaint declined pursuant to this rule will not be docketed under rule 35.4(2), and the disciplinary board or the respondent must not report or disclose the complaint to any person or authority for any reason.(6) A true copy of any complaint against a current member of the grievance commission or the disciplinary board involving alleged violations of an attorney's oath of office or of the Iowa Rules of Professional Conduct or laws of the United States or State of Iowa must be promptly forwarded to the Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Iowa. Sup. Ct. Att. Discip. Brd. R. P. 35.4
Court Order January 26, 2016, effective 4/1/2016; 12/13/2017, effective 1/1/2018.COMMENT: Rules 35.4(1) through 35.4(5) formerly appeared at Iowa Court Rule 34.4. Rule 35.4(6) formerly appeared as Iowa Court Rule 35.24(3). Rule 35.4 is amended to conform an internal reference to the newrule numbers.