(a) Establishment and Membership of the Board; Officers; Quorom; and Compensation.
(1) Establishment and Membership of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals.
The Board of Disciplinary Appeals of the Alabama State Bar shall be composed of five (5) lawyers, each of whom shall have at least fifteen (15) years experience in the practice of law in the State of Alabama, shall be a member of the Alabama State Bar in good standing, shall have no prior discipline, and shall not be a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners or a local grievance committee at the time of appointment. Its members shall be appointed by the Board of Bar Commissioners of the Alabama State Bar. Members shall be appointed for terms of three years, except when appointed to fill an unexpired term, and they cannot serve more than two consecutive full terms. Terms shall be staggered to provide, so far as possible, for the expiration each year of the terms of an equal number of members. (In furtherance of this goal, the initial appointments shall be made as follows: places numbered one, two, and three shall be appointed for terms of one, two, and three years, respectively. Places numbered four and five shall be appointed for terms of one and two years, respectively. Upon the expiration of these initial terms, the successor appointees shall serve full three-year terms.
These initial appointments shall be considered unexpired terms for purposes of reappointment and limitations on the number of terms.) Persons appointed shall serve at the pleasure of the Board of Bar Commissioners and may be dismissed from service at any time by action of that Board.
In the event of a vacancy during an unexpired term, the Board of Bar Commissioners shall appoint a lawyer who meets the qualifications set out in this rule to fill the unexpired term.
(2) Officers.
The members of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall elect from among their membership one chair and one vice-chair. The chair shall exercise overall supervisory control of the appellate functions of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals. The vice-chair shall assist the chair and shall serve as chair in the absence of the chair.
(3) Establishment of a Quorom.
Three members shall constitute a quorom; the Board shall act only with the concurrence of a majority of its five members, notwithstanding that fewer than all members are present for a proceeding.
(4) Compensation.
Members of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall receive no compensation for their services but may be reimbursed for their travel and other actual and necessary expenses incidental to the performance of their official duties.
(b) Powers and Duties of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals.
The Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall have plenary powers of appellate review of decisions of the Disciplinary Commission and the Disciplinary Board of the Alabama State Bar, as provided in subsection (d).
(c) Recusal of Disciplinary Board Appeals Members.
Members of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall recuse themselves from any proceeding in which a judge, similarly situated, would be required to recuse himself or herself.
(d) Scope and Standard of Review.
All proceedings filed with the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall be conducted as herein provided. When proceedings before the Board of Disciplinary Appeals are conducted, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall affirm the decision under review unless it determines that, based on the record as a whole, the findings of fact are clearly erroneous or that the form or extent of discipline imposed, when considered under the Alabama Standards for Imposing Lawyer Discipline, (1) bears no relation to the conduct, (2) is manifestly excessive or insufficient in relation to the needs and protection of the public, the profession, or the administration of justice, or (3) is arbitrary and capricious. No error shall be predicated on any ground not presented to the Disciplinary Board or the Disciplinary Commission. In affirming, reversing, or modifying a decision or order, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall specifically state the reason(s) for its conclusion(s) and the legal basis on which it relies.
(e) Appeal How Taken.
An appeal from a final order of a Disciplinary Board or the Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall be taken by filing a notice of appeal with the Disciplinary Clerk within the time set forth in this Rule. Upon the filing of a notice of appeal, the Board of Disciplinary Appeals shall have original jurisdiction over the appeal and the procedures concerning the appeal unless otherwise specified by these Rules. A copy of the notice of appeal shall be served on the Disciplinary Hearing Officer or the Chairman of the Disciplinary Commission.
(f) Appeal—When Taken.
The notice of appeal shall be filed with the Disciplinary Clerk of the Alabama State Bar within fourteen (14) days of the date of the filing of the final order of the Disciplinary Board or the Disciplinary Commission being appealed from. The filing of notice of appeal is jurisdictional, and the failure to timely file will result in dismissal of the appeal without further notice and will preclude further review by the Supreme Court of Alabama. The record on appeal shall be prepared, filed, and transmitted to the Board of Disciplinary Appeals by the Disciplinary Clerk in accordance with the provisions of Rule 12(f).
(g) General Provisions.
Except as otherwise provided in these Rules, and to the extent practical, appeals shall be conducted in conformity with the Alabama Rules of Appellate Procedure.
(h) Appeal of Decision of Board of Disciplinary Appeals. The decision of the Board of Disciplinary Appeals is final upon the entry of an order by the Board, unless a party files notice of appeal within fourteen (14) days of the issuance of the order with the Disciplinary Clerk and the Clerk of the Supreme Court of Alabama as provided by Rule 12(g). A petition for rehearing by the Board of Disciplinary Appeals will not be considered.”
“Note from the reporter of decisions: The order adopting Rule 5.1, effective August 1, 2000, is published in that volume of Alabama Reporter that contains Alabama cases from ____So.2d.”
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