(a) Chief Hearing Officer Selection Alternatives
Following a determination of whether a Hearing Panel or an Extended Hearing Panel should be appointed, the Chief Hearing Officer shall determine:
(1) which Regional Committee shall be the Primary Regional Committee from which Panelists may be selected; and
(2) whether one of the Panelists may be selected from the Market Regulation Committee.
(b) Criteria for Selection of Panelist from Market Regulation Committee
The Chief Hearing Officer may select one but not more than one Panelist from the Market Regulation Committee, as provided in
Rule 9231, to serve in a disciplinary proceeding if the complaint alleges at least one cause of action involving a violation of a statute or a rule described in
Rule 9120(u).
(c) Criteria for Designation of Primary Regional Committee
The Chief Hearing Officer shall designate a Regional Committee as the Primary Regional Committee based upon relevant facts and circumstances of the case, including but not limited to:
(1) the location of a Respondent's principal office if the Respondent is or was a member firm;
(2) the location of a Respondent's office at the time of the alleged misconduct if the Respondent is or was an associated person;
(3) the location of the office of a member or an associated person, or a former member or associated person, where the alleged misconduct occurred;
(4) the location of witnesses at the time of the filing of the complaint, especially the location of witnesses who are or were customers of a Respondent;
(5) the location, at the time of the alleged misconduct, of the main, branch, or other office in which supervisory personnel, who are or were responsible for the supervision of a Respondent, were employed; and
(6) the location, at the time of the alleged misconduct, of the main, branch, or other office in which supervisory personnel, who are or were responsible for the supervision of the office, division, function, or segment of the member where the alleged misconduct occurred, were employed.
(d) Criteria for Appointment of a Panelist
After the Chief Hearing Officer designates the Primary
Regional Committee, the Chief Hearing Officer shall select Panelists from the current members of the Primary
Regional Committee, the other categories of persons eligible to serve as Panelists as set forth in
Rule 9231(b)(1)(A) through (
F) or, if applicable, in
Rule 9231(c), who are located in the same geographic area as the Primary
Regional Committee, and, if applicable, from the current or former members of the Market Regulation Committee, based upon the following criteria:
(1) expertise;
(2) the absence of any conflict of interest or bias, and any appearance thereof;
(3) availability; and,
(4) the frequency with which a person has served as a Panelist on a Hearing Panel or an Extended Hearing Panel during the past two years, favoring the selection of a person as a Panelist who has never served or served infrequently as a Panelist during the period.
(e) Appointment of Panelists from Other than Primary Regional Committee
Designation of the Primary Regional Committee does not preclude the Chief Hearing Officer from selecting one or more Panelists from other categories of eligible Panelists if the Chief Hearing Officer determines that one or more persons from other categories of eligible Panelists more clearly meet the criteria of paragraph (d)(1) through (4) and the public interest or the administration of FINRA's regulatory and enforcement program would be enhanced by the selection of such Panelists.
