SB88

ENGROSSED

By Senator Orr

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating to courts; to establish the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission; to establish the criteria for determining the need for increasing or decreasing the number of judgeships in district courts and circuit courts; and to authorize the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission to reallocate judgeships based on such criteria.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:

Section 1. (a) A permanent study commission on the judicial resources in Alabama is hereby created and shall be known as the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission. The Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall be composed of the following members:

(1) The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama, who shall serve as chair.

(2) The legal advisor to the Governor of Alabama.

(3) The Alabama Attorney General.

(4) Three incumbent circuit judges appointed by the President of the Circuit Judges Association, one of whom should be from the most populous circuit. One member shall be appointed for three years, one member shall be appointed for four years, and one member shall be appointed for five years. All appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the duration of the unexpired term and subsequent appointments shall be for five-year terms. Any member so appointed shall serve only so long as they remain an incumbent circuit judge.

(5) Three incumbent district judges appointed by the President of the District Judges Association, one of whom shall be from a county without a dedicated circuit judge. One member shall be appointed for three years, one member shall be appointed for four years, and one member shall be appointed for five years. All appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the duration of the unexpired term and subsequent appointments shall be for five-year terms. Any member so appointed shall serve only so long as they remain an incumbent district judge.

(6) Three licensed attorneys, two appointed by the President of the Alabama State Bar and one appointed by the President of the Alabama Lawyers Association. One member shall be appointed for three years, one member shall be appointed for four years, and one member shall be appointed for five years. All appointments to fill vacancies shall be for the duration of the unexpired term and subsequent appointments shall be for five-year terms. Any member so appointed shall serve only so long as they remain a member in good standing of the Alabama State Bar.

(b) The membership of the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall be inclusive and reflect the racial, gender, geographic, urban/rural, and economic diversity of the state. The appointing authorities must coordinate together to achieve this diversity.

(c) A majority of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The Commission shall meet at least once annually beginning in the first quarter of 2017. The first committee meeting shall be set by Chief Justice. Members shall serve without compensation.

(d) The Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall annually review the need for increasing or decreasing the number of judgeships in each district court and circuit court using the following criteria:

(1) Judicial Weighted Caseload Study, as adopted by the Alabama Supreme Court;

(2) Population of the district or circuit as determined on the basis of the most recent decennial census of the United States or annual population estimates prepared by the United States Bureau of the Census;

(3) Judicial duties in the district or circuit, including consideration of those circuits which have specialized divisions; and

(4) Uniformity in the calculation of how civil, criminal, and domestic cases are accounted for between circuits.

(5) Any other information deemed relevant by the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission.

(e) Based on the criteria in subsection (c), the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall annually determine the need for increasing or decreasing judgeships in the district and circuit courts and rank each court accordingly. The Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall provide this list to the Governor and the Legislature no later than 30 days after it is completed.

Section 2. (a) Only in the event of a vacancy due to death, retirement, resignation, or removal from office of a district or circuit judge, the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall have 30 days to determine whether to reallocate such judgeship to another district or circuit. The Judicial Resources Allocation Commission may also choose to reallocate a judgeship if the incumbent judge shall not be eligible to run for reelection as a result of the age limitation provided for in Section 155 of the Constitution of Alabama 1901, as amended, by notifying the Secretary of State no later than one year prior to the close of qualifying for candidates to run for such judgeship. All reallocation decisions require a two-thirds vote of the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission members. In determining whether to reallocate such judgeship, the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall consider the need based on the district and court rankings as determined pursuant to Section 1. However, in no event shall the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission reallocate a judgeship to another district or circuit if doing so would cause the district or circuit from which the judgeship was being removed to move into the ten counties in most need of a district judge or the ten circuits, or divisions thereof, in most need of a circuit judge based on the rankings provided pursuant to Section 1. Additionally, each county shall continue to have at least one district judge.

(b) In the event the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission chooses not to reallocate the vacant judgeship within the 30 days prescribed in subsection (a), the vacancy shall be filled according to law in the district or circuit in which the judgeship is located.

(c) In the event the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission chooses to reallocate the vacant judgeship within the 30 days prescribed in subsection (a), the vacancy shall be filled according to law for the district or circuit to which the judgeship is reallocated. The person appointed to fill the judgeship shall serve the required time period pursuant to law before running for election, at which time the reallocated judgeship shall be subject to election in the district or circuit to which the judgeship was reallocated.

(d) Upon the reallocation of the judgeship, all remaining judgeships in the district or circuit from which the judgeship was reallocated shall be renumbered appropriately. Additionally, the state resources allocated to fund such judgeship shall continue to fund the judgeship in the district or circuit to which it was reallocated.

(e) The Chair of the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall keep a true record of all the proceedings of the meetings of the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission. At the call of any member the vote on any pending question shall be taken by ayes and nays, and the same shall be entered in such record, the records of the proceedings of the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission shall be open to any member of the Judicial Resources Allocation Commission and to the public and a copy of such record, certified by the Chair, shall be kept in the records of Judicial Allocation Resources Commission maintained by the Chair.

Section 3. A district or circuit judge appointed to a reallocated judgeship pursuant to this act shall have and exercise all jurisdiction, power, rights, and authority and shall possess all of the qualifications, perform all of the duties, and shall be subject to all of the responsibilities and duties of the office to which other district or circuit judges are subject.

Section 4. The annual compensation of the circuit or district judges appointed pursuant to this act shall be in accordance with Chapter 10A of Title 12, Code of Alabama 1975.

Section 5. (a) No later than January 1, 2017, the Alabama Supreme Court shall revise the factors considered in the Judicial Weighted Caseload Study to uniformly, fairly, and accurately account for criminal cases by counts brought against a defendant.

(b) No judgeship shall be reallocated until three years of data is available after the revision of the factors considered in the Judicial Weighted Caseload Study as provided in this section.

(c) No judicial circuit shall lose more than one judgeship through allocation in a two year period.

Section 6. The Commission shall be subject to the Alabama Open Meetings Act and the Alabama Open Records Act.

Section 7. All laws or parts of laws which conflict with this act are hereby repealed.

Section 8. This act shall become effective immediately following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Courts

Judges

Commissions

Court, Circuit

Chief Justice, Alabama

Governor

Court, District

Attorneys

Alabama State Bar

Counties

Municipalities