Chapter 149
2011 -- S 0686
Enacted 06/29/11
A N A C T
RELATING TO
COURTS AND CIVIL PROCEDURE - COURTS - JUDICIAL SELECTION
Introduced By: Senator Maryellen Goodwin
Date Introduced: March 10, 2011
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 8-16.1-6 of the General Laws in Chapter
8-16.1 entitled "Judicial
Selection" is hereby
amended to read as follows:
8-16.1-6.
Nomination and appointment of judges. [Repealed effective June 30, 2011.]
Nomination and appointment of
judges. [Repealed effective June 30, 2012.]-- (a) (1) The
governor shall immediately notify the commission of any
vacancy or prospective vacancy of a
judge of any state court other than the
advertise for each vacancy and solicit prospective candidates
and shall consider names submitted
from any source. Within ninety (90) days of any vacancy
the commission shall publicly submit
the names of not less than three (3) and not more than
five (5) highly qualified persons for each
vacancy to the governor.
(2) Notwithstanding any
other law to the contrary, any individual whose name was
publicly submitted to the governor by the commission as
described in subsection (1) above, shall
also be eligible for subsequent nomination by the governor
for any vacancy or prospective
vacancy of a judge in the same court for which that
particular individual had previously applied
except for a vacancy in the position of presiding justice,
chief justice, or chief judge.
(3) Such individuals
shall remain eligible for nomination to fill any vacancy or
prospective vacancy within the same court to which they previously
applied for a period of five
(5) years from the date their
name or names were publicly submitted to the governor by the
commission unless such individuals withdraw from future
consideration in writing to the judicial
nominating commission. However, such individuals must reapply
for any subsequent vacancy or
prospective vacancy in the same court for the position of
presiding justice, chief justice, or chief
judge.
(4) Subject to the
eligibility requirements set forth above, the governor shall fill any
vacancy of any judge of the
compensation court, or any other state court which the general
assembly may from time to time
establish, by nominating one of the three (3) to five (5)
highly qualified persons forwarded to him
or her by the commission for the court where the vacancy
occurs, or by nominating another
individual who has previously applied for a vacancy or
prospective vacancy within the same court
and whose name had been previously publicly submitted to
the governor within the previous five
(5) years.
(b) The governor shall
fill any vacancy within twenty-one (21) days of the public
submission by the commission.
(c) Each nomination
shall be delivered forthwith to the secretary of the senate for
presentation to the senate, and by and with the advice and consent
of the senate, each nominee
shall be appointed by the governor to serve subject to the
general laws. The senate shall, after
seven (7) calendar days of receipt of the nomination
consider the nomination, but if the senate
fails within ninety (90) days after the submission to
confirm the nominee or if the senate does not
by a majority vote of its members extend the
deliberation an additional seven (7) calendar days,
the governor shall appoint some other person to fill the
vacancy and shall submit his or her
appointment to the senate for confirmation in like manner until
the senate shall confirm the
nomination. If the nominee is rejected by the senate, the
commission shall submit a new list of
three (3) to five (5) candidates to the governor for the
purpose of nomination in accordance with
this chapter. Any new list may include but need not be
limited to the names of any candidates
who were previously submitted to the governor by the
commission but who were not forwarded
to the senate for its advice and consent.
(d) During the time for
consideration of the nominees by the senate, the senate judiciary
committee shall conduct an investigation and public hearing on
the question of the qualifications
of the nominee or nominees. At the public hearing, the
testimony of every witness shall be taken
under oath and stenographic records shall be taken and
maintained. Further, the senate judiciary
committee shall during the course of its investigation and
hearing have the power upon majority
vote of the committee members present to issue witness
subpoenas, subpoenas duces tecum,
and
orders for the production of books, accounts, papers,
records, and documents which shall be
signed and issued by the chairperson of the committee, or
the person serving in his or her
capacity. All such subpoenas and orders shall be served as
subpoenas in civil cases in the superior
court are served, and witnesses so subpoenaed shall be
entitled to the same fees for attendance
and travel as provided for witnesses in civil cases in
the superior court. If the person subpoenaed
to attend before the committee fails to obey the command
of the subpoena without reasonable
cause, refuse to be sworn, or to be examined, or to answer
a legal and pertinent question, or if any
person shall refuse to produce books, accounts, papers,
records, and documents material to the
issue, set forth in an order duly served on him or her, the
committee by majority vote of the
committee members present may apply to any justice of the
superior court, for any county, upon
proof by affidavit of the fact, for a rule or order
returnable in not less than two (2) nor more than
five (5) days, directing the person to show cause before
the justice who made the order or any
other justice of the superior court, why he or she should
not be adjudged in contempt. Upon the
return of the order, the justice before whom the matter is
brought on for hearing shall examine
under oath the person, and the person shall be given an
opportunity to be heard, and if the justice
shall determine that the person has refused without
reasonable cause or legal excuse to be
examined or to answer a legal and pertinent question, or to
produce books, accounts, papers,
records, and documents material to the issue which he or she
was ordered to bring or produce, he
or she may forthwith commit the offender to the adult
correctional institution, there to remain
until the person submits to do the act which he or she was
so required to do, or is discharged
according to law.
(e) The committee
shall, for the purpose of investigating the qualifications of the
nominee or nominees, be furnished with a report compiled by
the state police in conjunction with
the attorney general's office indicating the
determinations and findings of the state police and
attorney general's office investigations concerning the
background of the nominee or nominees,
and the report shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) Whether the nominee
has ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor
or felony in this or any other state or foreign country;
(2) Whether the nominee
has ever filed a personal bankruptcy petition or an assignment
for the benefit of creditors in this or any other state
or foreign country; and whether the nominee
has ever been a partner in, held ten percent (10%) or
more of stock in, or held office in any sole
proprietorship, partnership, or corporation that has been involved
in bankruptcy or receivership
actions as a debtor or because of insolvency at the time the nominee
was a partner in, held ten
percent (10%) or more stock in, or held office in any such
sole proprietorship, partnership, or
corporation;
(3) Whether the nominee
has ever had a civil judgment rendered against him or her
arising out of an allegation of fraud, misrepresentation,
libel, slander, professional negligence, or
any intentional tort in this state or any other state or
foreign country;
(4) The state police in
conjunction with the attorney general's department shall provide
in their report the names and addresses of each and
every source of their information.
(f) The reports set
forth in this section shall be delivered to the chairperson and members
of the senate judiciary committee in addition to the
nominee or nominees only prior to the
commencement of the public hearing. Provided, however, that if the
nominee or nominees
withdraw or decline the appointment prior to the public
hearing then the report or reports shall be
returned to the chairperson of the judiciary committee and
destroyed.
(g) The committee shall
also require a financial statement to be submitted by each
nominee, prior to the public hearing, to the chairperson of
the senate judiciary committee, to
investigate each nominee to determine his or her compliance with
the provisions of chapter 14 of
title 36.
(h) Any associate
justice of any state court who is appointed to serve as the chief or
presiding justice of that court on an interim basis shall
retain his or her status as an associate
justice until the appointment to chief or presiding justice
is made permanent.
(i)
In case a vacancy shall occur when the senate is not in session, the governor
shall
appoint some person from a list of three (3) to five (5)
persons submitted to the governor by the
commission to fill the vacancy until the senate shall next
convene, when the governor shall make
an appointment as provided in this section.
8-16.1-6.
Nomination and appointment of judges. [Effective
June 30, 2011.]
Nomination and appointment of
judges. [Effective
June 30, 2012.]-- (a) The governor shall
immediately notify the commission of any vacancy or prospective
vacancy of a judge of any state
court other than the
vacancy and solicit prospective candidates and shall consider
names submitted from any source.
Within ninety (90) days of any vacancy the commission
shall publicly submit the names of not
less than three (3) and not more than five (5) highly
qualified persons for each vacancy to the
governor. The governor shall fill any vacancy of any judge of
the
family court, district court, workers' compensation court,
or any other state court which the
general assembly may from time to time establish, by
nominating one of the three (3) to five (5)
highly qualified persons forwarded to him or her by the
commission for the court where the
vacancy occurs.
(b) The governor shall
fill any vacancy within twenty-one (21) days of the public
submission by the commission.
(c) Each nomination
shall be forwarded forthwith to the senate, and by and with the
advice and consent of the senate, each nominee shall be
appointed by the governor to serve
subject to the general laws. The senate shall, after seven
(7) calendar days of receipt of the
nomination consider the nomination, but if the senate fails
within ninety (90) days after the
submission to confirm the nominee or if the senate does not by a
majority vote of its members
extend the deliberation an additional seven (7) calendar
days, the governor shall appoint some
other person to fill the vacancy and shall submit his or
her appointment to the senate for
confirmation in like manner until the senate shall confirm the
nomination. If the nominee is
rejected by the senate, the commission shall submit a new list
of three (3) to five (5) candidates to
the governor for the purpose of nomination in accordance
with this chapter. Any new list may
include but need not be limited to the names of any
candidates who were previously submitted to
the governor by the commission but who were not forwarded
to the senate for its advice and
consent.
(d) During the time for
consideration of the nominees by the senate, the senate judiciary
committee shall conduct an investigation and public hearing on
the question of the qualifications
of the nominee or nominees. At the public hearing, the
testimony of every witness shall be taken
under oath and stenographic records shall be taken and
maintained. Further, the senate judiciary
committee shall during the course of its investigation and
hearing have the power upon majority
vote of the committee members present to issue witness
subpoenas, subpoenas duces tecum,
and
orders for the production of books, accounts, papers,
records, and documents which shall be
signed and issued by the chairperson of the committee, or
the person serving in his or her
capacity. All such subpoenas and orders shall be served as
subpoenas in civil cases in the superior
court are served, and witnesses so subpoenaed shall be
entitled to the same fees for attendance
and travel as provided for witnesses in civil cases in
the superior court. If the person subpoenaed
to attend before the committee fails to obey the command
of the subpoena without reasonable
cause, refuse to be sworn, or to be examined, or to answer
a legal and pertinent question, or if any
person shall refuse to produce books, accounts, papers,
records, and documents material to the
issue, set forth in an order duly served on him or her, the
committee by majority vote of the
committee members present may apply to any justice of the
superior court, for any county, upon
proof by affidavit of the fact, for a rule or order
returnable in not less than two (2) nor more than
five (5) days, directing the person to show cause before
the justice who made the order or any
other justice of the superior court, why he or she should
not be adjudged in contempt. Upon the
return of the order, the justice before whom the matter is
brought on for hearing shall examine
under oath the person, and the person shall be given an
opportunity to be heard, and if the justice
shall determine that the person has refused without
reasonable cause or legal excuse to be
examined or to answer a legal and pertinent question, or to
produce books, accounts, papers,
records, and documents material to the issue which he or she
was ordered to bring or produce, he
or she may forthwith commit the offender to the adult
correctional institution, there to remain
until the person submits to do the act which he or she was
so required to do, or is discharged
according to law.
(e) The committee
shall, for the purpose of investigating the qualifications of the
nominee or nominees, be furnished with a report compiled by
the state police in conjunction with
the attorney general's office indicating the
determinations and findings of the state police and
attorney general's office investigations concerning the
background of the nominee or nominees,
and the report shall include, but not be limited to, the
following:
(1) Whether the nominee
has ever been convicted of or pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor
or felony in this or any other state or foreign country;
(2) Whether the nominee
has ever filed a personal bankruptcy petition or an assignment
for the benefit of creditors in this or any other state
or foreign country; and whether the nominee
has ever been a partner in, held ten percent (10%) or
more of stock in, or held office in any sole
proprietorship, partnership, or corporation that has been involved
in bankruptcy or receivership
actions as a debtor or because of insolvency at the time the
nominee was a partner in, held ten
percent (10%) or more stock in, or held office in any such
sole proprietorship, partnership, or
corporation;
(3) Whether the nominee
has ever had a civil judgment rendered against him or her
arising out of an allegation of fraud, misrepresentation,
libel, slander, professional negligence, or
any intentional tort in this state or any other state or
foreign country;
(4) The state police in
conjunction with the attorney general's department shall provide
in their report the names and addresses of each and
every source of their information.
(f) The reports set
forth in this section shall be delivered to the chairperson and members
of the senate judiciary committee in addition to the
nominee or nominees only prior to the
commencement of the public hearing. Provided, however, that if the
nominee or nominees
withdraw or decline the appointment prior to the public
hearing then the report or reports shall be
returned to the chairperson of the judiciary committee and
destroyed.
(g) The committee shall
also require a financial statement to be submitted by each
nominee, prior to the public hearing, to the chairperson of
the senate judiciary committee, to
investigate each nominee to determine his or her compliance with
the provisions of chapter 14 of
title 36.
(h) Any associate
justice of any state court who is appointed to serve as the chief or
presiding justice of that court on an interim basis shall
retain his or her status as an associate
justice until the appointment to chief or presiding justice
is made permanent.
(i)
In case a vacancy shall occur when the senate is not in session, the governor
shall
appoint some person from a list of three (3) to five (5)
persons submitted to the governor by the
commission to fill the vacancy until the senate shall next
convene, when the governor shall make
an appointment as provided in this section.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02081
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