Section 30 - Discipline by Consent.(a) Joint Motion. At any time in the disciplinary process before the Commission files a recommendation of discipline in this Court pursuant to Sections 10 and 12 of this rule, a respondent judge and the Commission may file a Joint Motion for Discipline by Consent. The joint motion shall be filed under seal with the Court. In the event a notice of hearing has been filed, notice of the filing of the joint motion shall be given to the hearing officer to which the matter has been assigned, and all proceedings shall be stayed, pending disposition of the motion. The joint motion shall include stipulations of fact, conditional admissions of rules violated, the mental elements involved, the harm occasioned by the respondent judge's conduct, and the existence of any aggravating and mitigating factors. The judge shall acknowledge in the joint motion that he or she consents to the agreed upon discipline. In the joint motion, the parties shall stipulate to the following: (1) The judge's consent is freely and voluntarily rendered; the judge is not being subjected to coercion or duress; the judge is fully aware of the implication of submitting the consent; and (2) The judge consents because the judge knows that if a notice of hearing predicated upon the matters under investigation were filed, or if the pending proceeding were litigated, the judge could not successfully defend against them. The parties may enter into any other agreements appropriate under the facts of the case.The parties may enter into any other agreements appropriate under the facts of the case.
(b) Memorandum in Support of Consent Discipline. The respondent judge and the Commission shall append to the joint motion a memorandum that provides support, including relevant jurisprudence, where applicable, justifying imposition of the recommended discipline.(c) Discretionary, Sealed Memorandum from Judiciary Commission. Within ten days of the filing of the joint motion for consent discipline, or upon request of the Court, the Commission may file a supplemental memorandum, under seal, further explaining why it would be appropriate for the Court to accept the consent discipline. Notwithstanding any other provision of law or court rule, this sealed memorandum shall be available only to the Court, shall remain confidential, and shall not be provided to the respondent judge regardless of whether the discipline by consent is accepted or rejected by the Court.(d) Discontinuance of Jurisdiction. Approval of the consent discipline by the Court shall divest the hearing officer and the Commission of further jurisdiction over the allegations of misconduct contained in the notice of hearing and no report need be prepared in such cases.(e) Order of Discipline. If the Court determines consent discipline is appropriate, the Court shall enter an order disciplining the judge by consent. In the event the Court enters such an order, the pleadings filed with the Court shall become public, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. However, any sealed memorandum provided to the Court by the Commission in accordance with subpart C shall remain confidential, shall be available only to the Court, and shall not be provided to the respondent judge.(f) Rejection or Conditional Rejection of Consent Discipline.(1) Conditional Rejection. If the Court disagrees with the requested discipline, the Court can conditionally reject the requested discipline and allow the parties to submit within thirty days a Revised Motion and Memorandum in Support of Consent Discipline, offering a different discipline than the one contained in the original request. If the parties submit a revised request for consent discipline, the Court shall determine whether consent discipline is appropriate. However, if no revised Motion and Memorandum are submitted within the thirty-day period, the Motion and Memorandum in Support of Consent Discipline shall be rejected and the matter shall be remanded to the Commission for further proceedings. (2) Complete Rejection. If the requested discipline is rejected by the Court, the joint motion and any conditional admissions shall be considered withdrawn. In this event, any conditional admissions made in the joint motion cannot be used against the respondent in any subsequent proceedings. The joint motion and all other filings and materials shall remain sealed and shall not be disclosed or made available for use in any other proceeding, except upon order of the Court. The Court order in this instance shall be a matter of public record, but the respondent judge shall not be identified.