Documents (including complaints) and evidence obtained by the Board are confidential. The Board and its staff will not answer any questions about the existence or status of a complaint. During the preliminary inquiry, the accused judge often does not even know about a pending complaint. If the Board decides to do a full investigation, the accused judge will be notified and given an opportunity to respond to the charges.
Even if the Board discloses no information, the fact that an investigation is going on sometimes becomes known to the public. If this happens, the accused judge can request that the Board issue a statement to confirm an ongoing investigation, clarify the procedural aspects of the proceedings, explain the judge’s right to a fair hearing and provide the judge’s response to the complaint.
If a Board investigation results in a trial in the Court of Judicial Discipline, the trial is a matter of public record. At trial, any written or oral statements you have made will be disclosed to the judge before trial, and may become a part of the public record at trial. Also, if you have relevant information, you may be subpoenaed by the Board or the judge to testify at any trial before the Court.