1976, March, Pg. 377. Annual Report of the Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court.

5 Colo.Law. 377

Colorado Lawyer

1976.

1976, March, Pg. 377.

Annual Report of the Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court

377Annual Report of the Grievance Committee of the Supreme CourtTo the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of ColoradoPrevious annual reports of this Committee have consisted of case statistics presented solely to the Court. This report has a much broader scope, principally because during 1975 the results of several years of developmental work have begun to be evident. For the sake of historical perspective, this report traces these developmental efforts, summarizes the Committee's accomplishments during 1975, offers its own assessment of attorney discipline in Colorado, and states the Committee's needs for continued effectiveness. In an effort to be helpful, we also have tried to summarize the Committee members' own reflections about lawyers and lawyering in Colorado. Finally there is a review of the first two years' experience of lay public membership on the Committee.

COMMITTEE HISTORY, ORGANIZATION AND PROCESS

In 1959 the Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court of the State of Colorado was created by the Colorado Supreme Court rule as the sole authority for attorney discipline in Colorado. From its creation until 1973, the Committee was composed of nine attorney members and sat as a full committee in all its deliberations.(fn1)

Based upon substantial amendments to the Court's Rules for Discipline of Attorneys,(fn2) effective January 1974 and again in January 1975, the Committee's membership was increased and broadened, its operations were modified significantly, and the Committee for the first time was given its own counsel and staff support.(fn3) Currently there are 19 persons appointed to the Committee, each for a term of three years, 15 of whom are attorneys and four of whom are lay persons.(fn4) The Committee is organized into two panels of nine persons each.

Complaints about attorney misconduct may be made in writing by any person or may be initiated by the Committee. Initial complaints or requests for investigation are called informal complaints under the rules(fn5) and are apportioned evenly between the two panels for investigation. When taking action on informal complaints, a panel acts as an inquiry panel. Investigations of these complaints are conducted by a member of the Committee, by a member of the Committee's staff, or by a Colorado attorney

378especially enlisted by the Committee for the particular case.(fn6) Thereafter a report of the completed investigation is presented to the panel which makes one of four determinations: that the complaint is without merit or that there is no reasonable cause to proceed;(fn7) that there is minor misconduct for which discipline, in the form of a letter of admonition, is issued,(fn8) or that the investigation discloses facts warranting formal disciplinary proceedings. In the latter case a formal complaint is filed, usually by the Colorado Attorney General, in the name of the People and, in every case, there is a full trial-like hearing before a committee of three persons at the direction of the other panel. The results of the formal hearing are considered by the full second panel, acting as a hearings panel for these purposes, which may dismiss the complaint, issue a letter of admonition, or make a recommendation that the Colorado Supreme Court discipline the respondent in one of the following forms:(fn9) a letter of admonition; private censure; public censure; suspension of the respondent's license to practice law for a definite or indefinite period of time; or disbarment. In these latter cases the Colorado Supreme Court makes the final disciplinary determination.(fn10) In all cases a panel may also recommend that the Colorado Supreme Court enter additional orders regarding costs, restitution, restoration, refund or other appropriate matters.(fn11)

SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTIVITY

By the end of 1975 approximately 7,000 attorneys were registered in Colorado, including the 617 new admittees during 1975. About 200 of these 7,000 attorneys registered as "inactive" on their attorney registration form. It is estimated that approximately 35 percent of the Bar has been admitted to practice less than five years.

During 1975 the Grievance Committee processed more complaints, completed more investigations, conducted more formal disciplinary proceedings and submitted more matters to the Colorado Supreme Court for final action than in any prior year in its 16-year history. In fact, the Committee's work and accomplishments have increased by approximately 100 percent since 1971.(fn12)

Summary: 1971-1975

The charts below, covering the recent five-year period, reflect a substantial rise in misconduct cases coming to the attention of the Committee. Considered with other available information, these statistics indicate continued increases for at least the rest of the decade. For example, during 1975 just over 400 informal complaints or requests for investigations were initiated with the Committee. This is more than twice as many as in 1971, just four years ago,

Note: Owing to the fact that the disciplinary process consists of a series of progressive steps in proceedings before the inquiry panel, the hearing panel, and the Colorado Supreme Court, comparisons between or among these charts are not appropriate. For instance 1975 statistics on court-ordered discipline could be from cases initiated either during 1973 or 1974, depending on the nature of the case. Consequently a comparison between Charts A and D would not be appropriate. The statistical trend over the last five years has been that approximately 13 percent of the informal complaints filed have resulted in letters of admonition, approximately 9 percent of the informal complaints filed have resulted in serious discipline (some form of censure, suspension or disbarment) by the Colorado Supreme Court, and approximately 75 percent of the informal complaints have been dismissed either after investigation or hearing. However, in the last year there has been a significant increase in the percentage of matters requiring a hearing after investigation. No generally agreed upon explanation is available at this time.

In 1975 an additional 15 informal complaints were dismissed based upon permission to the complainant to withdraw the

379 Chart A

Informal Complaints or Requests for Investigations Field or Initiated Only 1971-1975

[Please see hardcopy for image]Chart B

Completed Investigations Each Year 1971-1975

[Please see hardcopy for image]Chart C

Letters of Admonition Issued Each Year 1971-1975

[Please see hardcopy for image]Chart D

Cases Resulting in Court-Ordered Discipline (Private Censure, Public Censure, Suspension, or Disbarment

[Please see hardcopy for image]complaint after partial investigation.Most of the statistical data for 1971 through 1974 have been compiled for the two-year periods of 1971-72 and 1973-74. A separate statistical analysis was computed solely for 1975. Charts C and D are therefore based upon calculated estimates for the single year periods during 1971-1974. Almost as much happened in 1975 alone as in any previous two-year period.

1975 DocketThe following figures indicate the work flow and volume of Committee business during 1975:

Informal Complaints and Investigations(fn13)Number of investigations pending as of January 1, 1975: 119Number of informal complaints filed and investigations initiated between January 1, 1975 and December 31, 1975: 403Number of informal complaints closed during 1975: 355Number of informal complaint investigations pending as of December 31, 1975: 167380Formal Disciplinary Proceedings and Hearings(fn14)Number of matters pending before the Hearings Panel as of January 1, 1975: 28(fn15)Number of matters referred for initiation of formal disciplinary proceedings between January 1, 1975 and December 31, 1975: 64(fn16)Number of matters completed before the Hearings Panel between January 1 and December 31,1975: 26(fn17)Number of matters pending before the Hearings Panel as of December 31, 1975: 57

Action Taken by The Colorado Supreme Court(fn18)Number of disciplinary and reinstatement cases pending before the Colorado Supreme Court as of January 1, 1975: 14(fn19)Number of cases docketed with the Court by the Hearings Panel during 1975: 22Number of cases closed by the Court by final orders of discipline during 1975: 23Number of cases pending before the Court for final disciplinary action as of December 31, 1975: 13Complaints by Type of Legal Service During 1975During calendar year 1975, The Colorado Supreme Court Grievance Committee completed investigations of 340 complaints against Colorado attorneys.(fn20) In 64 (19 percent) of these the investigation disclosed facts warranting formal disciplinary proceedings; most of these are still pending at some stage before the Committee or the Colorado Supreme Court. Discipline, in the form of a letter of admonition, was issued as the result of 52 (15 percent) of these investigations. The other 224 complaints (66 percent) were dismissed either upon a finding of no professional misconduct (no merit) or for lack of reasonable cause to institute further proceedings. A special cautionary letter was written to a respondent, if the occasion warranted it. Although many of the dismissed cases, upon reflection, involved matters not attributable to misconduct but were more in the nature of minor fee disputes and...