ELC 10.14
                EVIDENCE AND BURDEN OF PROOF


(a) Proceedings Not Civil or Criminal.  Hearing officers
should be guided in their evidentiary and procedural rulings
by the principle that disciplinary proceedings are neither
civil nor criminal but are sui generis hearings to determine
if a lawyer's conduct should have an impact on his or her
license to practice law.

(b) Burden of Proof.  Disciplinary counsel has the burden of
establishing an act of misconduct by a clear preponderance
of the evidence.

(c) Proceeding Based on Criminal Conviction.  If a formal
complaint charges a respondent lawyer with an act of
misconduct for which the respondent has been convicted in a
criminal proceeding, the court record of the conviction is
conclusive evidence at the disciplinary hearing of the
respondent’s guilt of the crime and violation of the statute
on which the conviction was based.

(d) Rules of Evidence.  Consistent with section (a) of this
rule, the following rules of evidence apply during
disciplinary hearings:

  (1) evidence, including hearsay evidence, is
     admissible if in the hearing officer’s judgment it is
     the kind of evidence on which reasonably prudent
     persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of their
     affairs.  The hearing officer may exclude evidence that
     is irrelevant, immaterial, or unduly repetitious;

  (2) if not inconsistent with subsection (1), the
     hearing officer shall refer to the Washington Rules of
     Evidence as guidelines for evidentiary rulings;

  (3) documents may be admitted in the form of copies or
     excerpts, or by incorporation by reference;

  (4) Official Notice.

     (A) official notice may be taken of:

        (i) any judicially cognizable facts;

        (ii) technical or scientific facts within the
             hearing officer’s or panel’s specialized
             knowledge; and

        (iii) codes or standards adopted by an agency of
              the United States, of this state, or of another
              state, or by a nationally recognized
              organization or association.

     (B) the parties shall be notified either before or
         during hearing, or by reference in preliminary
         reports or otherwise, of the material noticed and
         the sources thereof, including any staff memoranda
         and data, and they shall have an opportunity to
         contest the facts and material noticed.  A party
         proposing that official notice be taken may be
         required to produce a copy of the material to be
         noticed.

(e) APA as Guidance.  The evidence standards in this rule
are based on the evidence provisions of the Washington
Administrative Procedures Act, which, when not inconsistent
with these standards, should be looked to for guidance.
“Shall” has the meaning in this rule ascribed to it in the
APA.


[Adopted effective October 1, 2002.]