Archive for July, 2012

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Puerto Rico: Legislature moves for specialized divisions/courts; Senate investigation over possible misuse of court staff

July 31st, 2012

The 2011/2012 regular and special sessions of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico have focused on the creation of specialized courts/dockets within the Commonwealth’s courts. Among the proposals:

PC 910 Creates special labor-relations courts (“Salas de Asuntos Laborales”) as divisions of the main trial court (El Tribunal de Primera Instancia). Grants Office of Court Administration power to create regulations for operation of new divisions. Approved by full House with Senate amendments 6/29/12. To Governor for approval.

PC 3693 Requires Office of Ombudsman for Woman offer training to judges at least twice a year on the issue of domestic violence. Approved by full House  6/25/12.

PC 3988 Establishes special courts for claims of damages for negligence on the hospital medical malpractice. Directs Judicial Branch create special chambers for up to 6 months as divisions of the main trial court to handle such cases. Requires judges assigned have specialized training regarding hospital medical malpractice. Grants Office of Court Administration power to create regulations for new chambers. Approved by full House  6/22/12. Approved by Senate Health Committee 6/25/12.

PS 2362 Creates Veterans Courts Pilot Program. Approved by Senate Public Safety and Judicial Affairs & Labor, Veterans Affairs and Human Resources Committees 6/25/12.

PS 2522 Directs Supreme Court create special chambers as divisions of the main trial court to handle murder trials. Provides the chambers are to be presided over by current or former judges specialized in criminal cases appointed by the Supreme Court. Grants Office of Court Administration power to create regulations for new chambers. Requires Office of Court Administration report on special chambers and practices within 12 months of implementation. Signed into law by Governor 6/24/12.

 

In addition in late 2011 there were accusations that the Commonwealth’s Chief Justice  had misused government vehicles and escorts (contemporary news accounts can be found here, here, and here). Resulting in an ongoing Senate investigation.

RC 1963 Directs House Finance and Judiciary Committees investigate accusations of misuse of public funds by Chief Justice. Reports due to legislature by December 31, 2012. In House Internal Affairs Committee.

RS 2509 Directs Senate Public Security and Judicial Affairs Committee investigate recent allegations of irregularities in use of public funds and property administered by the Judicial Branch and the criteria use  by judicial officers with respect to their administrative powers. Requires report be completed within 60 days. Approved by full Senate 12/14/11. House approval not required.

RS 2539 Amends RS 2509 to include possible interference and misuse of such judicial officers with administrative powers in the adjudication of disputes pending before the Judicial Branch and to extend the term to present the report findings. Extends deadline to end of legislative session. Approved by full Senate 1/19/12. House approval not required.

RS 2654 Amends RS 2509 to extend deadline for reports to December 31, 2012. Approved by full Senate 3/29/12. House approval not required.

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Posted in Jurisdiction, Rule Making Authority, Special Edition, Structure Changes

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Guam State of the Judiciary: “One of the wisest investments of time and resources that our government can make is making our court system as hospitable and secure as possible”

July 30th, 2012

Guam’s Chief Justice, F. Philip Carbullido, delivered his 2012 State of the Judiciary Address on May 1, 2012 to the 31st Guam Legislature (Liheslaturan Guåhan).

Portions of the Chief Justice’s Address are below:

Preserving Our Mission, Protecting the Rule of Law: A fair, efficient, and fully functioning court system provides businesses with the necessary confidence to invest in an area, by ensuring that their investments are fully protected under the rule of law… The protection provided by the court system is what makes it possible for our citizens to innovate and enjoy the fruits of their labor, while protecting their rights and the rights of others; it is what attracts investors and it’s what gives our local people the security they need to venture into business in the hopes of growing our economy and improving their standard of living.

CMS: For the Judiciary, the new CMS means that we can more effectively allocate our workload and maintain the most efficient operation possible… The Judiciary is moving with the national trend of becoming a paper-on-demand court. As part of Phase II of our CMS, we will implement e-filing in the Superior Court – an option that, until now, has only been available in the Supreme Court.

Strategic Plan: The Judiciary’s Strategic Plan is our way forward, our blueprint for the next 3 – 5 years. It’s how we know where we need to be, and it’s the surest set of directions on how to get there… Many of our strategic projects are focused on solutions designed to address all issues of timeliness – from getting a case moved through the system more quickly, to decreasing the time it takes to complete routine court business.

Program Highlights: The Judiciary of Guam succeeds today because our extraordinary employees and community partners come together in productive ways to make our system of justice work better tomorrow than it does today … A staggering 9,294 cases were filed in the Superior Court in 2011, including 2,027 criminal Cases… I would be remiss if I did not mention our specialty courts and the judges and employees who staff these courts… By providing “wrap around services,” we are able to target the underlying problems that lead people into the criminal justice system.

Concluding Thoughts: The Judiciary of Guam serves a very important function in our community and we are committed to providing quality, reliable, and accessible justice to all Guam’s residents and businesses… We rely on the collective support of the Legislature and the Governor in order to continue fulfilling our mission, and to ensure that our justice system remains accessible, reliable, and stable. I am acutely aware – and very much appreciate – that funding is tight for everyone. But by design of our system of government, the people of Guam depend on you to provide. We rely on the collective support of the Legislature and the Governor in order to continue fulfilling our mission, and to ensure that our justice system remains accessible, reliable, and stable. I am acutely aware – and very much appreciate – that funding is tight for everyone. But by design of our system of government, the people of Guam depend on you to provide.

 

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Posted in Special Edition, State of the Judiciary

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Non-state week 2012: Guam

July 30th, 2012

Among the bills being considered by the 31st Guam Legislature (Liheslaturan Guåhan) affecting the courts are:

Bill 347-31 Authorizes the hiring of retirees in the Judiciary of Guam and allowing such retirees to continue to receive their regular retirement annuities while so employed.  In Committee on Appropriations, Taxation, Public Debt, Banking, Insurance, Retirement and Land.

Bill 446-31 Removes Presiding Judge of Superior Court and others from list of government officials who may travel off the island at government expense. In Committee on Youth, Cultural Affairs, Procurement, General Governmental Operations and Public Broadcasting.

Bill 455-31 Authorizes the Judiciary of Guam to submit requests for criminal history checks to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for all Guam Americorps volunteers. In Committee on Public Safety, Law Enforcement and Judiciary.

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Posted in Special Edition

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Non-state week 2012: A look at legislation affecting the non-state courts of the United States

July 30th, 2012

Since its establishment in 2006 as a set of spreadsheets, Gavel to Gavel maintained itself as “A review of state legislation affecting the courts.” However, this has admitted and regrettably given short shrift to the other parts of the United States that are not states:

  1. Territory of American Samoa
  2. Territory of Guam
  3. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
  4. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
  5. United States Virgin Islands
  6. District of Columbia

In 2011 Gavel to Gavel began an annual practice of focusing a week on these specific non-states and that practice continues for a week starting today.

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Posted in Admin, Special Edition

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Wyoming Joint Interim Judiciary Committee meets, will examine possible 4% and 8% budget cuts to judiciary

July 27th, 2012

Wyoming’s Joint Interim Judiciary Committee is set to meet July 30 and 31. On the agenda are presentations on the issue of budget reductions, including plans to reduce the judiciary’s budget by 4% ad 8%.

 

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Posted in Interim Activities, Salary & Budget

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New Mexico legislature’s Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee meets July 26-27

July 26th, 2012

The New Mexico legislature’s Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee is set to meet today and Friday. On the committee’s agenda:

  • Prison Population Forecast
  • Program Evaluation: Reducing Recidivism, Cutting Costs and Improving Public Safety in the Incarceration and Supervision of Adult Offenders; and Presentation of a Cost-Benefit Model
  • Sex Offender Parole and Parole Hearings
  • Sex Offender Registration and Notification
  • Office of the Medical Investigator
  • Changes to the Sunshine Portal Transparency Act
  • Missing Persons and Identification of Human Remains

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Posted in Interim Activities

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NJ Senate Labor Committee to consider constitutional amendment removing some judicial salary protections

July 26th, 2012

I mentioned the previous hearing involving New Jersey SCR 110. In short, the constitutional amendment would allow judge’s salaries to be reduced “for deductions from such salaries for contributions, established by law from time to time, for pensions as provided for under paragraphs 3 and 5 of Section VI of this Article, health benefits, and other, similar benefits.”

Interestingly, while the Assembly portion (ACR 152) is assigned to the Assembly Judiciary Committee, the Senate version was initially heard and approved in the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee back in June.

Now comes word that the next Senate committee to hold a hearing on the measure will not be the Judiciary Committee but the Senate Labor Committee on July 26 at 2 PM. The Senate Judiciary Committee meets earlier in the day to consider other matters.

The amendment comes just days after the NJ Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision that the state’s constitution, as currently written, prohibits forcing judges to pay for increases in their health benefits and pensions enacted last year. (h/t Gavel Grab) The lower court ruing is what prompted SCR 110 to be introduced.

 

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Posted in Salary & Budget

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West Virginia interim judiciary committees meet

July 25th, 2012

West Virginia’s legislature is having its monthly interim committee meetings this week. Topics to be discussed include:

July 23

Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee B: Regulation of Fireworks

July 24

Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee A: Workplace bullying & Unemployment Insurance coverage Gap

Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee C: Presentations regarding DUI offenses

July 25

Full Committee: Reports of the subcommittees

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Posted in Interim Activities

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LA Senate Judiciary Committee examines who should be the state’s next Chief Justice

July 25th, 2012

The Louisiana Constitution provides (Article V, Sections 4 & 6)

Section 4. The state shall be divided into at least six supreme court districts, and at least one judge shall be elected from each. The districts and the number of judges assigned to each on the effective date of this constitution are retained, subject to change by law enacted by two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature.

Section 6. The judge oldest in point of service on the supreme court shall be chief justice. He is the chief administrative officer of the judicial system of the state, subject to rules adopted by the court.

The meaning of these provisions, however, are in dispute as two separate justices of the state’s Supreme Court claim to be the “oldest in point of service on the supreme court.” The New York Times summarizes the situation thusly (h/t Gavel Grab)

Louisiana elected single justices from five districts, and two from a separate district in which black voters were grouped with whites so that no black candidate won. The 1991 United States Supreme Court decision found that this arrangement diluted black votes in breach of the Voting Rights Act, which it said applied to judicial elections.

To avoid displacing the two white justices elected from the special district, the 1992 consent decree added an eighth justice that year from a new black district. After the 10-year terms of the whites expired in 2000, the court was to revert to seven justices. The decree said the justice from the new district would “participate and share equally in the cases, duties, and powers” of the court.

Justice Johnson was elected to represent the new black district in 1994, 2000 and 2010. But the current chief justice, Catherine D. Kimball, argues that Justice Johnson’s service as the eighth justice between 1994 and 2000 does not count toward her seniority because the seat was temporary and not one of the seven specified by the Louisiana Constitution.

Those districts were established by statute (R.S. 13:101, 101.1).

The Louisiana Senate’s Judiciary B Committee met earlier today in the New Orleans Council Chambers to consider the issue. During the testimony Justice Johnson is reported to have stated she rejected a plan that would have had her wait until 2017 to take the seat as chief justice.

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Posted in Interim Activities, Jurisdiction, Other, Qualification & Terms, Selection

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NH House committee advances plans to impeach judges for their decisions in domestic relations cases; 4th time in 5 years NH judges threatened with removal from office over custody or divorce case decisions

July 25th, 2012

I’ve mentioned the numerous impeachment efforts made against state court judges over the last 2 years for their decisions, including an effort in New Hampshire (HR 7 of 2011) that targeted the entire bench of the main trial court (Superior).

Now comes word that the New Hampshire House’s Redress of Grievances Committee, a committee that according to the Concord Monitor was revived in 2011 after a century in disuse, has voted to recommend impeachment against several  judges, one of whom is retired, because of their rulings in custody cases.

Petition 45, filed by GOP state Senate candidate Joshua Youssef alleges misconduct on the part of three judges, two martial masters, and a guardian ad litem as part of a custody dispute. According to the Concord Monitor, Youssef testified alone and was the sole witness; the judges and others against whom the petition had been lodged declined to appear. Moreover only those portions of the court file provided by Youssef were considered (the article notes other portions were less favorable towards Youssef).

The 8-2 vote on the Youssef complaint comes only days after the same committee voted 9-1 to investigate for impeachment a retired judge. Petition 11 was filed by another father in another custody case who disagreed with the judge’s determinations as it pertained to custody and visitation. The judge has subsequently retired. That petition was advanced on a 9-1 vote.

This marks the 4th time in the last 5 years the NH House has attempted to remove a judge or judicial-branch official from office because of their rulings in custody or divorce proceedings. Prior efforts included HR 7, noted above, as well as attempts in 2010 and 2006 (detailed here).

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Posted in Interim Activities, Other

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