Texas Government Code 33.032 – Confidentiality of Papers, Records, and Proceedings
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(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and § 33.034, the papers filed with and proceedings before the commission are confidential prior to the filing of formal charges.
(b) The formal hearing and any evidence introduced during the formal hearing, including papers, records, documents, and pleadings filed with the clerk, shall be public.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 33.032
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) On issuance of a public admonition, warning, reprimand, or public requirement that a person obtain additional training or education by the commission, the record of the informal appearance and the documents presented to the commission during the informal appearance that are not protected by attorney-client or work product privilege shall be public.
(d) The disciplinary record of a judge, including any private sanctions, is admissible in a subsequent proceeding before the commission, a special master, a special court of review, or a review tribunal.
(e) On the filing of a written request by a judge, the commission may release to the person designated in the request, including the judge, the number, nature, and disposition of a complaint filed against the judge with the commission, except that the commission may refuse to release the identity of a complainant.
(f) The commission may release to the Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel of the State Bar of Texas information indicating that an attorney, including a judge who is acting in the judge’s capacity as an attorney, has violated the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct.
(g) If the commission issues an order suspending a judge who has been indicted for a criminal offense, the order, any withdrawal of the order, and all records and proceedings related to the suspension shall be public.
(h) A voluntary agreement to resign from judicial office in lieu of disciplinary action by the commission shall be public on the commission’s acceptance of the agreement. The agreement and any agreed statement of facts relating to the agreement are admissible in a subsequent proceeding before the commission. An agreed statement of facts may be released to the public only if the judge violates a term of the agreement.
(i) Any sanction the commission issues against a judge for knowingly making a false declaration on an application for a place on the ballot as a candidate for a judicial office described by § 141.0311, Election Code, any withdrawal of such sanction, and all records and proceedings related to the sanction are a matter of public record.