Chief Disciplinary Counsel v. Elder

Citations

• 206 Conn. App. 515

Syllabus

The defendant attorney appealed to this court from the judgment of the trial court reprimanding him for violations of the rules of practice and the Rules of Professional Conduct in connection with misconduct involv- ing his IOLTA account. The plaintiff, the Chief Disciplinary Counsel, filed a presentment alleging the misconduct after a reviewing committee of the Statewide Grievance Committee found that there was probable cause that the defendant had violated various provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct and the rules of practice. The trial court denied the defendant's motion to dismiss the presentment complaint on the grounds that it was untimely because the reviewing committee took more than ninety days to render its final written decision, in contravention of the applicable statute (§ 51-90g (c)) and rule of practice (§ 2-35 (i)), and because the reviewing committee had considered allegations of misconduct beyond the scope of its probable cause determination. Held: 1. The trial court did not err when it refused to dismiss the presentment complaint due to the reviewing committee's failure to issue a final written decision within ninety days of its determination of probable cause; the failure of the reviewing committee to abide by the time frames established in § 51-90g (c) and Practice Book § 2-35 (i) did not divest the trial court of subject matter jurisdiction over the disciplinary action, as § 51-90g (c) and Practice Book § 2-35 (m) provide that the reviewing committee's untimeliness did not require dismissal of the presentment complaint. 2. The trial court did nor err when it refused to dismiss the presentment complaint because the reviewing committee considered allegations out- side the scope of its probable cause determination; the applicable rule of practice (§ 2-35 (d) (1)) expressly provides that the disciplinary coun- sel may add additional allegations of misconduct before the reviewing committee holds a hearing on the alleged misconduct. Argued