Commissions Evaluating State Judicial Performance

The bill makes revisions to various functions of the state commission on judicial performance (state commission) and the district commissions on judicial performance (district commission), referred to collectively as the 'commissions'. The changes include:

• Changing the makeup of the state commission to include one representative from each judicial district to ensure representation from the entire state;
• Establishing guidelines for when attorneys and nonattorneys are appointed to the state commission by a district commission;
• Not allowing the chief justice to select individuals for the state commission, which reviews the chief justice's performance;
• Mandating annual public meetings at which the public is invited to attend and confidentially comment on justices and judges;
• Requiring the state commission to obtain and verify required financial disclosures, criminal histories, and driving histories for each justice or judge reviewed by the commissions;
• Requiring judicial evaluations to take place every 2 years and to be made public at that time;
• Mandating that the commissions make a 'do not retain' recommendation when a majority of commissioners determine that it is more probable than not that a justice or judge:
• Knowingly committed a dishonest act during the performance of judicial duties;
• Knowingly made inaccurate or insufficient public financial disclosures; or
• Was improperly influenced by a conflict of interest in performing a judicial act; and
• Mandating that the commissions make a 'do not retain' recommendation when two-thirds of the attorneys who complete a questionnaire or survey for the commission recommend that the justice or judge is not retained.

The bill is funded from any fees and cost recoveries for electronic filings, network access and searches of court databases, electronic searches of court records, and any other information technology services performed pursuant to statute.

(Note: This summary applies to this bill as introduced.)