Utah Courts
UCJA Rule 11-521 (Code of Judicial Administration)
UCJA Rule 11-521 (Code of Judicial Administration)
Rule 11-521. OPC prosecutorial powers and duties.
(a) The Chief Disciplinary Counsel has exclusive authority over the OPC’s prosecutorial functions and has the following powers and duties, which may be delegated to other staff:
(1) Screen all information coming to the attention of the OPC to determine whether it is within the jurisdiction of the OPC in that it relates to misconduct by a Lawyer or to the incapacity of a Lawyer.
(2) Investigate all information coming to the attention of the OPC which, if true, would be grounds for discipline or transfer to disability status, and investigate all facts pertaining to petitions for reinstatement or relicensure.
(3) Choose to dismiss, decline to prosecute, refer nonfrivolous and substantial Complaints to the Committee for hearing, or petition the district court for interim discipline or for transfer to disability status.
(4) Prosecute before the screening panels, the district courts, the Supreme Court, and any other courts, including but not limited to, any court of the United States all disciplinary cases and proceedings for transfer to or from disability status.
(5) Attend the Character and Fitness Committee proceedings in all cases for relicensure, and represent the OPC before the district courts, Supreme Court, and any other courts including, but not limited to, any court of the United States in all cases for reinstatement and relicensure.
(6) Appoint and supervise staff needed for the performance of prosecutorial functions and delegate such responsibilities as may be reasonably necessary to perform the OPC’s prosecutorial functions.
(7) Notify each jurisdiction in which a Respondent is licensed of a transfer to disability status or any public discipline imposed in Utah.
(8) Seek reciprocal discipline where appropriate when informed of any public discipline imposed by another court, another jurisdiction, or a regulatory body having disciplinary jurisdiction.
(9) Forward a certified copy of the judgment of conviction to the disciplinary agency in each jurisdiction in which a Lawyer is licensed when the Lawyer is convicted of a crime in Utah which reflects adversely on the Lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness, or fitness as a Lawyer.
(10) Maintain records of discipline and disability matters subject to any expungement requirements and compile statistics to aid in the administration of the system, including but not limited to, a log of all Complaints received, investigative files, statistical summaries of rules violated and dispositions, any transcripts of proceedings, and other records as the Supreme Court requires to be maintained.
(11) Provide informal guidance concerning professional conduct to Lawyers through seminars that will promote ethical conduct, formulate diversionary programs, monitor probations, and disseminate disciplinary results to the Bar and the public through the Utah Bar Journal and otherwise as appropriate while maintaining the confidentiality of Respondents subject to private discipline.
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