Section 2-50.Records of Statewide Grievance Committee, Reviewing Committee and Grievance Panel

Current through August 12, 2025 (2026 Practice Book edition) · Last verified July 9, 2026

In one sentenceThis rule spells out exactly what documents make up a grievance record, and sets rules for which of those records are public and which stay confidential, including special protections for misidentified respondents.

Full Text of Section 2-50

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

(a) The Statewide Grievance Committee shall maintain the record of each grievance proceeding. The record in a grievance proceeding shall consist of the following:

(1) The grievance panel’s record as set forth in Section 2-32 (i);

(2) The reviewing committee’s record as set forth in Section 2-35 (e);

(3) The Statewide Grievance Committee’s record;

(4) Any probable cause determinations issued by the Statewide Grievance Committee or a reviewing committee;

(5) Transcripts of hearings held before the Statewide Grievance Committee or a reviewing committee;

(6) The reviewing committee’s proposed decision;

(7) Any statement submitted to the Statewide Grievance Committee concerning a proposed decision;

(8) The Statewide Grievance Committee’s final decision;

(9) The reviewing committee’s final decision;

(10) Any request for review submitted to the Statewide Grievance Committee concerning a reviewing committee’s decision; and

(11) The Statewide Grievance Committee’s decision on the request for review.

(b) The following records of the Statewide Grievance Committee shall not be public:

(1) All records pertaining to grievance complaints that have been decided by a local grievance committee prior to July 1, 1986.

(2) All records of pending grievance complaints in which probable cause has not yet been determined.

(3) All records pertaining to grievance complaints that have been filed on or after July 1, 1986, and that have been dismissed by a grievance panel, by the Statewide Grievance Committee or by a reviewing committee without a finding of probable cause that the attorney is guilty of misconduct.

(4) All records of complaints dismissed pursuant to Section 2-32 (a) (2) and (c).

(c) All records enumerated in subsection (a) pertaining to grievance complaints that have been filed on or after July 1, 1986, in which probable cause has been found that the attorney is guilty of misconduct shall be public, whether or not the complaint is subsequently dismissed.

(d) Unless otherwise ordered by the court, all records that are not public shall be available only to the Statewide Grievance Committee and its counsel, the reviewing committees, the grievance panels and their counsel, the bar examining committee, the standing committee on recommendations for admission to the bar, disciplinary counsel, the client security fund committee and its counsel, a judge of the Superior Court, a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, any grievance committee or other disciplinary authority of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut or, with the consent of the respondent, to any other person. Such records may be used or considered in any subsequent disciplinary or client security fund proceeding pertaining to the respondent.

(e) Any respondent who was the subject of a complaint in which the respondent was misidentified and the complaint was dismissed shall be deemed to have never been subject to disciplinary proceedings with respect to that complaint and may so swear under oath. Records of such grievance complaints shall not be public.

(f) For purposes of this section, all grievance complaints that were pending before a grievance panel on July 1, 1986, shall be deemed to have been filed on that date.

End

Amendment History

(P.B. 1978-1997, Sec. 32.) (Amended June 24, 2002, to take effect July 1, 2003; May 14, 2003, effective date changed to Oct. 1, 2003; Sept. 30, 2003, effective date changed to Jan. 1, 2004; amended June 26, 2006, to take effect Jan. 1, 2007; amended June 29, 2007, to take effect Jan. 1, 2008; amended June 30, 2008, to take effect Jan. 1, 2009.)

Plain-English Summary

Section 2-50 governs the paper trail of Connecticut's attorney grievance system. Subsection (a) lists everything that makes up the record of a grievance proceeding: the grievance panel's record, the reviewing committee's record, probable cause determinations, hearing transcripts, proposed and final decisions, and any requests for review along with the outcome. Subsections (b) and (c) draw the line between public and non-public records. Complaints decided before July 1, 1986, pending complaints where probable cause hasn't been determined yet, and complaints dismissed without a finding of probable cause all stay non-public. But once probable cause has been found that an attorney is guilty of misconduct, the full record becomes public — even if the complaint is later dismissed.

Subsection (d) limits access to non-public records to a defined list of officials and bodies — the Statewide Grievance Committee and its counsel, reviewing committees, grievance panels, the bar examining committee, disciplinary counsel, the client security fund committee, certain judges, and (with the respondent's consent) anyone else. Subsection (e) gives special protection to an attorney who was misidentified in a complaint that was then dismissed: that attorney is treated as never having been subject to the proceeding, may swear to that fact under oath, and the records stay non-public. Subsection (f) treats any complaint pending before a grievance panel on July 1, 1986, as filed on that date for purposes of applying these rules.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does a Connecticut attorney grievance record become public?

It becomes public once probable cause has been found that the attorney is guilty of misconduct, and it stays public even if the complaint is later dismissed.

Are dismissed grievance complaints public in Connecticut?

Not if they were dismissed without a finding of probable cause — those records stay non-public. Complaints dismissed after a probable cause finding remain public.

What happens if a grievance complaint names the wrong attorney?

A misidentified respondent whose complaint was dismissed is treated as never having been the subject of the proceeding, and the records of that complaint stay non-public.

Who can see non-public grievance records?

A specific list of officials, including the Statewide Grievance Committee and its counsel, grievance panels, disciplinary counsel, the client security fund committee, and certain judges, or anyone else with the respondent’s consent.

Source & verification. The section text is reproduced verbatim from the official Connecticut Practice Book (Conn. Practice Book § 2-50). Prescribed by the Judges of the Superior Court of Connecticut (Conn. Gen. Stat. Section 51-14). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 9, 2026. · Official source

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