Opinion ID: 1975377
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Release of Transcript

Text: Before addressing the issue of the release of the transcript, it is necessary to address the commission's interpretation and application of Rule 20. [6] The law in Rhode Island is well settled that an administrative agency will be accorded great deference in interpreting a statute whose administration and enforcement have been entrusted to the agency. In re Advisory Opinion to the Governor, 732 A.2d 55, 76 (R.I.1999); Pawtucket Power Associates Limited Partnership v. City of Pawtucket, 622 A.2d 452, 456 (R.I.1993); Defenders of Animals, Inc. v. Department of Environmental Management, 553 A.2d 541, 543 (R.I.1989) (attributing great weight to an agency's construction of a regulatory statute when the provisions of the statute were unclear); ([I]ndeed, even when the enabling provision(s) empowering an agency to adopt regulations is unclear, we still are required to accord great deference to the agency's interpretation of its authority to act.) [W]here the provisions of a statute are unclear or subject to more than one reasonable interpretation, the construction given by the agency charged with its enforcement is entitled to weight and deference as long as that construction is not clearly erroneous or unauthorized. Gallison v. Bristol School Committee, 493 A.2d 164, 166 (R.I.1985). As stated previously, the commission has interpreted Rule 20 as mandating this Court's approval of its decision to waive a public hearing only after the respondent has admitted to the allegations and after he or she has appeared at a closed hearing held before the commission in mitigation of whatever sanction the commission may recommend. This Court is mindful that the members of the Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline give exemplary service to the Judiciary and the people of the state by donating a great deal of time and energy to the expeditious handling of difficult cases. However, based upon a careful review of the commission's enabling legislation, chapter 16 of title 8, and Rule 20, we have determined that this Court's approval of any decision by the commission to waive a public hearing is necessary before such a waiver can be effective and before the commission can conduct any closed hearing with the respondent judge concerning what sanction(s) the commission may recommend. See In re O'Brien, 650 A.2d 134, 135 (R.I.1994). Moreover, the commission cannot agree to waive the public hearing required by § 8-16-4(c) until the respondent judge formally admits to the allegations as a consent to the commission's recommended sanction. The respondent's admission and consent to the commission's recommended sanction should occur before the commission waives the public hearing requirement and before it communicates to this Court its request for approval of its decision to waive a public hearing. Further, it is only after the approval by this Court of the commission's waiver of a public hearing that a respondent's appearance before the commission, if any, for the purpose of requesting the commission to mitigate its recommended sanction may be closed to the public. [7] Accordingly, whenever a judicial officer elects to admit to the allegations or violations and toconsent to the commission's recommended sanction, this Court's approval of the commission's proposed waiver of the public hearing must be obtained before any closed hearing shall proceed. We now turn to the request by OCG to make public the transcript from the hearing that was held on October 18, 2000, so that respondent and his attorney could present to the commission matters in mitigation of the charges in the complaint. This is a question of first impression for this Court. OCG has claimed that the transcript of the proceeding that culminated in the recommendation of removal and of a monetary sanction now before the Court is a public record. Rule 20 provides in relevant part that, [w]henever the respondent, prior to the commencement of a public hearing, admits to said allegations or violations, as a consent to the Commission's recommendation of [a particular sanction], the public hearing may be waived by the Commission, subject to the approval of the Supreme Court.  (Emphases added.) Thereafter, [t]he Commission shall make recommendations to the Supreme Court based on the respondent's admissions. The respondent's admissions, the Commission's findings and recommendations shall be public.  Id. (Emphasis added.) In this case, however, the respondent never admitted to the violations as a consent to the commission's recommended sanctions. Indeed, to this day respondent objects to the commission's recommendation of a monetary sanction and has challenged the commission's authority to make such a recommendation. Clearly, under these circumstances, respondent was not entitled to seek a waiver of the commission's public hearing mandate pursuant to the limited provisions contained in Rule 20. Moreover, this Court never approved any waiver by the commission of its obligation to hold a public hearing on the charges. Thus, the preconditions set forth in Rule 20 for waiving the public-hearing requirement never were complied with in this case. For this reason, respondent's October 18, 2000appearance before the commission  purportedly in mitigation of the commission's recommended sanctions  does not enjoy the limited protections afforded by Rule 20. Accordingly, once the commission decided to recommend to this Court that certain sanctions should be imposed against respondent, it was obliged to file those recommendations, together with the transcript of its proceedings, with the Chief Justice of this Court. Upon doing so, those records became public documents. Thus, § 8-16-5 provides as follows:  Whenever the commission shall make a determination recommending the reprimand, censure, suspension, immediate temporary suspension, removal, or retirement of a member of the judiciary, it shall file forthwith a copy of the recommendation, certified by the chairperson, together with the transcript and the findings and conclusions, with the chief justice of the supreme court, and the commission shall forthwith give the member of the judiciary written notice of the filing, together with a copy of its findings and recommendations. The notice shall be mailed to the chambers of the judge or to his or her last known place of residence or may be personally delivered to him or her by a member of the commission. The transcript and the findings, conclusions, and recommendation of the commission shall be public documents, except when they relate to a hearing concerning a private reprimand pursuant to § 8-16-4(d), in which case they shall be kept confidential. (Emphasis added.) The commission's rules also require that when, as here, the commission has voted to recommend that action be taken against the respondent judicial officer, it must file a transcript of its proceedings with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. See Rule 29 of the Rules of the Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline. After it does so, [ t]he transcript and the findings, conclusions and recommendation of the Commission shall be public documents, except when they relate to a hearing concerning a private reprimand, in which case they shall be kept confidential. Id. (Emphasis added.) Given these provisions and the fact that the transcript of the commission's proceedings concerning respondent was not protected by Rule 20 and did not relate to a private reprimand, we are of theopinion that the transcript of the October 18, 2000 proceeding, together with the findings, conclusions, and recommendation of the commission shall be public documents, as required by § 8-16-5 and by commission Rule 29. In so ruling, however, we confirm that, pursuant to § 8-16-13, the commission is expressly authorized and permitted to conduct closed meetings for the conduct of all of its business other than public hearings held pursuant to § 8-16-4(c), and that [a]ll evidence obtained by the commission, and all evidence that the judge obtains from the commission through discovery or otherwise, shall remain confidential until it becomes the subject of testimony at the public hearing or is introduced into evidence at the public hearing. Section 8-16-13. Thus, any commission meetings and/or hearings held in connection with its preliminary investigations of complaints against members of the Judiciary or in connection with private reprimands pursuant to § 8-16-4(d), shall not be open to the public, and all evidence and proceedings relating to the private reprimand shall be kept confidential. In this case, however, the hearing held on October 18, 2000, did not involve a private reprimand, was not part of the commission's preliminary investigation, and occurred after the commission had determined that the charges against respondent were supported by substantial evidence and after it had directed that a public hearing be held thereon. In these circumstances, in the absence of prior approval by this Court and the respondent's consent to the commission's recommended sanctions, the commission was not at liberty to conduct a private hearing in mitigation of any recommended or suggested sanctions. We recognize that the commission has interpreted Rule 20 to allow it to waive a public hearing without our prior approval. In deference to this prior interpretation by the commission, we shall make our ruling applicable only to the case at bar and to all subsequent cases that shall arise after the date of this opinion. See Haddad v. First National Stores, Inc., 109 R.I. 59, 67, 280 A.2d 93, 98 (1971); Rampone v. Wanskuck Buildings, Inc., 102 R.I. 30, 35, 227 A.2d 586, 589 (1967). For the aforementioned reasons, (1) we accept the commission's recommendation that respondent be removed as a judicial officer of the AAC and that a monetary sanction be imposed against the respondent to reimburse the public for the approximate cost of his wrongdoing; (2) we deny the respondent's request for this Court to reject the recommendation of the commission pertaining to the imposition of a monetary sanction; and (3) we remand this matter to the commission for a more accurate determination of the value of services and a recalculation of the recommended monetary sanction. After doing so, the commission's report and recommendation with respect to the recalculated sanction shall be returned forthwith to this Court for our consideration. In addition, we grant the request of OCG for a copy of the transcript made at the hearing conducted by the commission on October 18, 2000, because respondent is not entitled to the protections afforded by Rule 20 and, therefore, that document is part of the records that shall be public under § 8-16-5 and Rule 29 of the Rules of the Commission on Judicial Tenure and Discipline after the commission has filed with the Chief Justice of this Court a copy of its recommendation that a sanction be imposed against a member of the Judiciary. Chief Justice WILLIAMS did not participate.