Georgia Discipline Procedures-Part1

4-201. State Disciplinary Board

The powers to investigate and discipline members of the State Bar of Georgia and those authorized to practice law in Georgia for violations of the Standards of Conduct set forth in Bar Rule 4-102 are hereby vested in
a State Disciplinary Board
and a Consumer Assistance Program.
The State Disciplinary Board shall consist of two panels.
The first panel shall be the Investigative Panel of the State Disciplinary Board (Investigative Panel).
The second panel shall be the Review Panel of the State Disciplinary Board (Review Panel). ...

(a) The Investigative Panel shall consist of
• the President-elect of the State Bar of Georgia and
• the President-elect of the Young Lawyers Division of the State Bar of Georgia,
• one member of the State Bar of Georgia from each judicial district of the State appointed by the President of the State Bar of Georgia with the approval of the Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia,
• one member of the State Bar of Georgia from each judicial district of the State appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia,
• one at-large member of the State Bar of Georgia appointed by the Supreme Court,
• one at-large member of the State Bar of Georgia appointed by the President with the approval of the Board of Governors, and
• six public members appointed by the Supreme Court to serve as public members of the Panel.
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(b) The Review Panel shall consist of
1. the Immediate Past President of the State Bar,
2. the Immediate Past President of the Young Lawyers Division or a member of the Young Lawyers Division designated by its Immediate Past President,
3. nine members of the State Bar, three from each of the three federal judicial districts of the State appointed as described below [filled in odd years by appointment by the President, with the approval of the Board of Governors, and in even years by appointment by the Supreme Court of Georgia], and
4. four public members appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia.

Rule 4-202. Receipt of Grievances; Initial Review by Bar Counsel

(a) All grievances other than those initiated by the Supreme Court of Georgia, the Investigative Panel or inquiries which may be filed with the Consumer Assistance Program under Part XII of these Rules shall be first filed with the Office of the General Counsel of the State Bar of Georgia. The Office of the General Counsel shall require that oral grievances, and grievances illegibly or informally drawn, be reduced to a memorandum of grievance in such form as may be prescribed by the Investigative Panel.

(b) Upon receipt of a grievance in proper form, the Office of the General Counsel shall screen it to determine whether the grievance is unjustified, frivolous, patently unfounded or fails to state facts sufficient to invoke the disciplinary jurisdiction of the State Bar of Georgia. The Office of the General Counsel shall be empowered to collect evidence and information concerning any grievance and to add the findings and results of its investigation to the file containing such grievance. The screening process may include forwarding a copy of the grievance to the respondent in order that the respondent may respond to the grievance.

(c) Upon completion of its screening of a grievance, the Office of the General Counsel shall be empowered to dismiss those grievances which are unjustified, frivolous, patently unfounded or which fail to state facts sufficient to invoke the disciplinary jurisdiction of the State Bar of Georgia; provided, however, that a rejection of such grievances by the Office of the General Counsel shall not deprive the complaining party of any right of action he might otherwise have at law or in equity against the respondent. Those grievances which appear to allege any violation of Part IV, Chapter 1 of the State Bar Rules shall be forwarded to the Investigative Panel or a subcommittee of the Investigative Panel according to Rule 4-204.1.

Rule 4-204. Preliminary Investigation by Investigative Panel-Generally

(a) Each grievance alleging conduct which appears to invoke the disciplinary jurisdiction of the State Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of Georgia shall be referred in accordance with Rule 4-204.1 by the Office of the General Counsel to the Investigative Panel or a subcommittee of the Investigative Panel for investigation and disposition in accordance with its rules. The Investigative Panel shall appoint one of its members to be responsible for the investigation. The Office of the General Counsel shall simultaneously assign a staff investigator to assist in the investigation. If the investigation of the Panel establishes probable cause to believe that the respondent has violated one or more of the provisions of Part IV, Chapter 1 of these rules, it shall:
(1) issue a letter of admonition;
(2) issue an Investigative Panel Reprimand;
(3) issue a Notice of Discipline; or
(4) refer the case to the Supreme Court of Georgia for hearing before a special master and file a formal complaint with the Supreme Court of Georgia, all as hereinafter provided.
All other cases may be either dismissed by the Investigative Panel or referred to the Fee Arbitration Committee or the Committee on Lawyer Impairment.
(b) The primary investigation shall be conducted by the staff investigators, the staff lawyers of the Office of the General Counsel, and the member of the Investigative Panel responsible for the investigation. The Board of Governors of the State Bar of Georgia shall fund the Office of the General Counsel so that the Office of the General Counsel will be able to adequately investigate and prosecute all cases.