A. The Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission shall transmit to the appropriate District Committee of the Virginia State Bar any complaint or evidence that may come to its attention with reference to the alleged misconduct of a judge, substitute judge or pro tempore judge which relates to his private practice of law.

Terms Used In Virginia Code 17.1-918

  • Commission: means the Judicial Inquiry and Review Commission provided for in Article VI, Section 10 of the Constitution of Virginia. See Virginia Code 17.1-900
  • 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.
  • Judge: means a justice of the Supreme Court, judge of the Court of Appeals, judge of a circuit or district court, member of the State Corporation Commission, or a member of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission and includes (i) persons who have been elected or appointed to be judges but have not taken the oath of office as judge as well as persons who have taken such oath, (ii) judges designated under § 17. See Virginia Code 17.1-900
  • Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245

B. The Commission shall also transmit any evidence that it has in its possession with reference to the alleged misconduct of any judge whose election is to be considered at the next session of the General Assembly to (i) the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and (ii) any member of the General Assembly, upon request. Such evidence shall include the nature of the complaint, the current status of the complaint, the duration of any suspension and the evidence supporting the probable cause finding therefor, a description of any remedial course of action, and a statement concluding whether any such remedial course was successfully undertaken. A copy of any evidence in whatever form so transmitted shall be sent to the judge in question. Any such evidence transmitted to the House Committee for Courts of Justice and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary or to any member of the General Assembly shall lose its confidential character.

1973, c. 387, § 2.1-37.17:1; 1993, c. 92; 1997, c. 914; 1998, cc. 757, 804; 2001, c. 844; 2004, cc. 332, 363.

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