07: Fee generating appointments and the maintenance of appointment dockets in all courts

1.) All requests for the involuntary removal of an individual from a court generated list of persons eligible for fee generating appointments maintained under paragraph (2) of Rule 1:07, shall be in writing, shall specify the grounds upon which the request for removal is based, and shall be addressed to the Chief Justice of the Department, hereinafter Chief Justice. 1 2.) If the request for involuntary removal raises serious concerns as to the individual’s qualifications or suitability to perform the duties and/or functions of the type of appointment(s) for which he or she is eligible, the Chief Justice shall have the discretion to temporarily suspend the individual from one or more of the court generated lists of his or her Department. The Chief Justice may remove the temporary suspension at any time during the review of a request for involuntary removal. 3.) The Chief Justice shall send a copy of the request to the individual whose involuntary removal is sought along with a notice indicating that the individual may file a written response. 4.) After receipt and review of the individual’s written response or upon the expiration of 30 days if no written response is received, the Chief Justice shall determine if an investigation should be conducted into the facts and circumstances that form the basis for the request. If an investigation is not needed because the facts are not in dispute, the Chief Justice shall make his or her determination. If the Chief Justice determines that no action is required on the request for involuntary removal, he or she shall inform in writing both the requesting party and the individual whose involuntary removal was sought that no action will be taken on the request. If the Chief Justice determines that the individual should be removed from one or more of the court’s lists or that a lesser sanction should be imposed, he or she shall make such recommendation in writing to the Chief Justice for Administration and Management. Lesser sanctions which the Chief Justice may recommend shall include, but are not limited to, suspension from the list for a specific period of time, caseload limits, assignment of a mentor, a directive to obtain additional training or referral to Lawyer’s Concerned for Lawyers. If the Chief Justice’s decision is that an investigation is necessary, he or she shall appoint an individual to conduct an investigation. 5.) The investigator so selected under paragraph (4) shall conduct a complete and full investigation into the facts and circumstances that provide the basis for the request for involuntary removal and shall report the results of the investigation in writing. 6.) The investigator’s report shall be submitted to the Chief Justice and a copy shall be forwarded to the individual whose involuntary removal is sought. The Chief Justice shall afford to the individual whose involuntary removal is sought an opportunity to submit a written response. The Chief Justice may, in his or her discretion, meet with the individual whose involuntary removal is sought and such others as the Chief Justice deems appropriate or he or she may conduct a hearing at which the individual whose involuntary removal is sought may be heard. Based upon the investigator’s report and such other information as the Chief Justice has obtained, he or she shall make a determination. If the Chief Justice determines that no action is required on the request for involuntary removal, he or she shall inform in writing both the requesting party and the individual whose involuntary removal was sought that no action will be taken on the request. If the Chief Justice determines that the individual should be removed from one or more of the court’s lists or that a lesser sanction should be imposed, he or she shall make such recommendation in writing to the Chief Justice for Administration and Management. 7.) If the Chief Justice decides to recommend the removal of the individual from one or more of the court’s lists, or that a lesser sanction be imposed, the Chief Justice shall set forth in his or her written recommendation the basis for said recommendation and forward it along with a copy of the investigator’s report and such other documentation as has been submitted, to the Chief Justice for Administration and Management. A copy of the recommendation shall also be sent to the individual whose involuntary removal is sought. 8.) The Chief Justice for Administration and Management shall consider the recommendation submitted by the Chief Justice and shall, within sixty days, either accept or reject the recommendation. That decision shall be final. A copy of the Chief Justice for Administration and Management’s decision shall be sent to the Chief Justice, the requesting party and the individual whose involuntary removal is sought. 9.) The initial request for involuntary removal, any report prepared by an investigator appointed under paragraph 4, any written response submitted under paragraph 3, any written recommendation prepared pursuant to paragraph’s 4, 6 or 7, any written response submitted under paragraph 6, and any hearing conducted under paragraph 6 shall be considered to be confidential and shall not be open to the public. 10.) If, within 30 days after the Chief Justice sends the copy referred to in paragraph 3, the individual does not respond in writing objecting to the requested involuntary removal, the person’s name may be removed from the list in question (or a lesser sanction imposed) by the Chief Justice without following the procedures set forth in paragraphs 4 through 9. The Chief Justice shall notify the Chief Justice for Administration and Management of the action by the Chief Justice under this paragraph and shall send a copy of that notification to the individual whose name has been removed. 11.) Notwithstanding the foregoing, and provided that a request for involuntary removal is not pending against him or her, any person may voluntarily remove his or her own name from a court list for fee generating appointments by sending a written request for such voluntary removal to the Chief Justice. Adopted December 4, 2003, effective January 1, 2004.