Records Retention

(1) The purpose of this rule is to create a records retention policy as directed by T.C.A. § 17-5- 202(e). (2) Administrative records of the board shall be maintained by disciplinary counsel and kept at the board’s office. Examples of administrative records include notices of board meetings, agendas of board meetings, minutes of board meetings, transcripts of board meetings, the designation of investigative and hearing panels, statistical reports, financial records, rules governing practice and procedure before the board, and other official documents generated in the ordinary course of essential board business. These records shall be permanently kept in both physical and electronic form. (3) Historical records documenting the essential functions of the board, such as minute books, dockets, statistical reports or summaries, and letters of appointment and board membership lists, as well as other historically significant documents pertaining to board business, shall be maintained by disciplinary counsel and kept at the board’s office. These records shall be permanently kept in both physical and electronic form. (4) Records related to the receipt, screening, investigation, and prosecution of complaints, whether from an outside source or internally created, shall be maintained by disciplinary counsel, in both physical and electronic form, and kept at the board’s office. Examples of such records include the complaint and any relevant supporting documentation, correspondence to and from the complaining party and the subject judge, votes of investigative panel members, statutorily required notices, pleadings, case dispositions, extensions of time granted by the board chair, and referrals to other agencies. The electronic file shall be permanently kept, except when destruction of the records is required by T.C.A. § 17-5-304 upon a determination that the complaint is frivolous, unfounded, or beyond the GENERAL CHAPTER 0787-01 permissible scope of the board’s inquiry. The physical file shall be destroyed consistent with state law but no sooner than one year after the final action taken in the case, except when it is determined that deletion of the records is required by T.C.A. § 17-5-304. When deletion of records is required by T.C.A. § 17-5-304, both paper and electronic records shall be destroyed as quickly as reasonably possible after the complaint has been determined to be frivolous, unfounded, or beyond the permissible scope of the board's inquiry. (5) Records related to the adjudication of a case initiated by the filing of a formal charge shall be kept and housed by the clerk of the Supreme Court. These records include all public documents pertaining to the case, such as pleadings, motions, orders, transcripts, and the board’s decision. These records shall be permanently kept in both physical and electronic form. (6) Temporary records, defined in T.C.A. § 10-7-301(13) as material which can be disposed of in a short period of time as being without value in documenting the functions of an agency, need not be kept. Examples of such records include drafts of documents, notes, emails, voice or text messages, and other communication media with no significant or permanent administrative, historical, or legal value.