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RULE 18-412. JUDICIAL INQUIRY BOARD

West's Annotated Code of MarylandMaryland RulesEffective: January 1, 2024

West's Annotated Code of Maryland
Maryland Rules
Title 18. Judges and Judicial Appointees
Chapter 400. Judicial Disabilities and Discipline
Division 2. Structure [Rules 18-411 and 18-412]
Effective: January 1, 2024
MD Rules Judges, Rule 18-412
RULE 18-412. JUDICIAL INQUIRY BOARD
Currentness
(a) Appointment; Composition; Qualifications; Terms.
(1) Appointment; Composition.
(A) The Supreme Court shall appoint a Judicial Inquiry Board consisting of two judges, two attorneys, and three public members who are not attorneys or judges. No individual may serve on the Commission and the Board concurrently.
(B) The composition of the Board shall reflect the racial, gender, and geographical diversity of the population of Maryland.
(2) Qualifications.
(A) All members shall be residents of the State of Maryland.
(B) The judicial members shall be active judges of the State of Maryland.
(C) The attorney members shall be (i) admitted to practice law in Maryland, (ii) engaged in the practice of law in Maryland for a minimum of seven years, and (iii) not be a judge of any court.
(D) The public members shall not be (i) active or retired judges, (ii) admitted to practice law in Maryland, or (iii) persons who have a financial relationship with or receive compensation from a judge or person admitted to practice law in Maryland.
(3) Terms.
(A) Subject to subsection (d)(2) of this Rule, the term of each member is four years, commencing on July 1. A member may not serve for more than two full terms or more than a total of ten years if appointed to fill a vacancy.
(B) Membership automatically terminates on the date that (i) a member ceases to be a resident of Maryland; (ii) any judicial member ceases to be an active judge; (iii) an attorney member becomes a judge or is disbarred or suspended; or (iv) a public member becomes a judge, is admitted to practice law in Maryland, or has a financial relationship with or receives compensation from a judge or person admitted to practice law in Maryland.
(b) Compensation. A member of the Board may not receive compensation for serving in that capacity but is entitled to reimbursement for expenses reasonably incurred in the performance of official duties in accordance with standard State travel regulations.
(c) Chair and Vice Chair. The Supreme Court shall designate a judicial member of the Board to serve as Chair of the Board and the other judicial member to serve as Vice Chair. The Vice Chair shall perform the duties of the Chair whenever the Chair is disqualified or otherwise unable to act.
(d) Recusal, Removal, or Replacement.
(1) A member of the Board may not participate as a member in any discussion or recommendation in which (A) the member is a complainant, (B) the member's disability, impairment, or sanctionable conduct is in issue, (C) the member's partiality reasonably might be questioned, (D) the member has personal knowledge of disputed material evidentiary facts involved in the discussion or recommendation, or (E) the recusal of a judicial member otherwise would be required by the Maryland Code of Judicial Conduct.
(2) The Supreme Court may remove or replace members of the Board at any time, and may temporarily replace a member of the Board with a former member of the Board or Commission for purposes of maintaining a quorum.
(3) Following the expiration of a member's term other than pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(B) of this Rule, the Board may conduct business in the ordinary course with that member continuing to serve, until such time as a replacement is appointed.
(e) Quorum. The presence of a majority of the members of the Board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business, so long as at least one judge, one attorney, and one public member are present. A member of the Board may be physically present or present by telephone, video, or other electronic conferencing. Other than adjournment of a meeting for lack of a quorum, no action may be taken by the Board without the concurrence of a majority of the members of the Board.
(f) Records. Subject to a retention schedule approved by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Board shall keep a record of all documents filed with the Board and all proceedings conducted by the Board concerning a judge.
Source: This Rule is derived from former Rule 18-403 (2018).

Credits

[Adopted May 15, 2019, eff. July 1, 2019. Amended April 21, 2023, eff. nunc pro tunc April 1, 2023. Amended Nov. 28, 2023, eff. Jan. 1, 2024. Amended eff. Jan. 1, 2024.]
MD Judges, Rule 18-412, MD R JUDGES Rule 18-412
Current with amendments received through May 1, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credits for details.
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