Opinion ID: 2602451
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: C.A.R. 21 AND C.R.C.P. 251.1(d)

Text: Exercise of the supreme court's original jurisdiction is entirely within its discretion. People v. District Court, 869 P.2d 1281, 1285 (Colo.1994). Relief pursuant to C.A.R. 21 is appropriate to correct an abuse of discretion by a lower court where no other remedy would be adequate. Id.; People v. District Court, 664 P.2d 247, 251 (Colo.1983). Although challenges to discovery rulings are typically the subject of an appeal, People v. District Court, 894 P.2d 739, 742 (Colo.1995), it can be appropriate to review discovery orders interlocutorily, by way of original proceeding, where the impact of the ruling would be substantial and incurable at a later time. See People v. District Court, 664 P.2d at 251; see also People v. District Court, 898 P.2d 1058, 1060 (Colo.1995); People v. District Court, 869 P.2d at 1285. For a number of reasons, it is particularly appropriate to review this disciplinary discovery order at this time. The newness of the Rules Regarding Attorney Discipline and Disability Proceedings and the substantial changes they have effected in existing procedures raise significant questions about the discoverability of the practices and opinions of an attorney reporting misconduct. Even more than usual, the need to protect against unnecessary invasion of privacy and burdensome or oppressive discovery of a non-party is important in this context to avoid creating unnecessary disincentives to the reporting of attorney misconduct. See In the Matter of Smith, 989 P.2d 165, 172 (Colo.1999). The express reservation in C.R.C.P. 251.1(d) of authority to review any determination made in the course of a disciplinary proceeding is indicative of the unique role of the supreme court in supervising such proceedings.