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Bans on court use of sharia/international law: 33 bills in 20 states to start 2012; review of all efforts since 2010

January 30th, 2012

2012 marks the third year in a row to see major legislative efforts to ban state courts from using sharia or international law. A recap:

2010

Write up of all 2010 efforts here

2010 saw three efforts make their way out of their respective legislatures. The Oklahoma constitutional amendment would never take force, having been struck down by a federal district court, a determination upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit in January 2012.

  • Louisiana HB 785 & SB 460: “Foreign law” means any law, rule, or legal code or system established and used or applied in a jurisdiction outside of the states or territories of the United States…A court, arbitrator, administrative agency, or other adjudicative, mediation, or enforcement authority shall not enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed by the constitution of this state or of the United States.
  • Oklahoma HJR 1056 (Constitutional Amendment): Prohibits the courts to “look to the legal precepts of other nations or cultures. Specifically, the courts shall not consider Sharia Law or international law.” Requires courts adhere only to the U.S. & Oklahoma Constitutions, federal and state law and regulations, and where necessary the laws and regulations of another state.
  • Tennessee HB 3768 & SB 3740: Defines “law, legal code, or legal system” means a law, legal code, or legal system used or applied in any jurisdiction outside of Tennessee, including any foreign state, jurisdiction, country or territory of the United States…Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, and subject to provisions of superseding federal treaties, any otherwise enforceable contract which incorporates any substantive or procedural law, legal code or legal system of another state, foreign jurisdiction or foreign country that would violate rights and privileges granted under the United States or Tennessee Constitution is declared to be against public policy of this state and is unenforceable in this state.

2011

Write up of all 2011 efforts here

Despite having far more bills introduced in 2011 than in 2010, there was only one such piece of legislation enacted

  • Arizona HB 2064 Defines “foreign law” as “any law, rule or legal code or system other than the constitution, laws and ratified treaties of the united states and the territories of the united states, or the constitution and laws of this state….a court, arbitrator, administrative agency or other adjudicative, mediation or enforcement authority shall not enforce a foreign law if doing so would violate a right guaranteed by the constitution of this state or of the united states or conflict with the laws of the united states or of this state.”

2012

15 sharia/international law bans were carried over from the 2011 session. Combined with 18 newly introduced bills this puts the issue front and center for the 2012 sessions. Already there has been activity, with the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee giving its approval to a ban.

Full roster of 33 bills introduced in 2012 in 20 states and their statuses after the jump.

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Posted in Jurisdiction, Other, Special Edition

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Should judges be forced to retire at 70? 75? Florida’s Senate Judiciary Committee debates the issue

January 20th, 2012

The issue of mandatory judicial retirement ages has grown more and more pressing as the general populace sees its life expectancy increase. Several state legislatures have grappled with the issue. Below is a hearing conducted before the Florida Senate Judiciary Committee on January 19, 2012 on SJR 408, an effort to increase Florida’s mandatory retirement age.

Florida’s Constitution specifies in Art. V, Sec. 8 that judges must retire at age 70, but may serve out their current term if they have already served roe than 50% of it.

No justice or judge shall serve after attaining the age of seventy years except upon temporary assignment or to complete a term, one-half of which has been served.

SJR 408 changes the bolded text to read “seventy five”. It also makes some grammatical corrections (changes “No justice or judge…” to “A justice or judge…”)

The video below gives some of the pros and cons heard at the committee hearing. In the end, the bill passed 5-0 and was sent to the Senate Budget Committee.

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Posted in Qualification & Terms, Video

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Florida House and Senate bills tie judicial retirement benefits & funding to changes to state merit selection system

January 10th, 2012

I mentioned yesterday the Florida Senate plan to tie funding for the state courts to a revocation of judicial immunity and changes to the state judicial disciplinary commission. Carrying on the linkage pattern is HB 971 and the similar SB 1570. Rather than tying funding to allowing for judges to be sued personally for their decisions, the bills tie judicial retirement benefits to changes to the state’s merit selection system.

Both bills address the impact on retirement benefits for those judges already in retirement but called back into temporary service by the Chief Justice. In sum, the bills would provide such temporary assignment does not affect eligibility for benefits under the Florida Retirement System.

The bills then, in differing ways, alter the composition and membership of the state’s judicial nominating commissions.

HB 971, on the House House Judiciary’s Civil Justice Subcommittee agenda for January 11, removes a requirement that attorneys nominated by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar and appointed to judicial nominating commission(s) by the governor be “engaged in the practice of law”. The bill then specifies appointments to a judicial nominating commission, except an appointment to fill a vacant, unexpired term, are for a set 4 years and specifies that acts of judicial nominating commissions must be made with concurrence of majority of its current members.

SB 1570 goes even further in changing merit selection in the state. It provides that, with the exception of members selected from a list of nominees provided by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, a current member of a judicial nominating commission appointed by the Governor serves at the pleasure of the Governor. Moreover, the provision appears to be retroactive (“Notwithstanding any other law, each current member of a judicial nominating commission appointed by the Governor, other than those selected from a list of nominees provided by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar, shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor”) allowing current governor Rick Scott to remake the state’s judicial nominating commissions at any time. In this, it nearly parallels a similar 2011 effort (HB 7101) passed on a party line vote in the House that would have made the terms of all commission members the same as the Governor.

Moreover, even those members of the commissions nominated by the Board of Governors of The Florida Bar could more easily be removed. SB 1570 repeals a provision that commission members may only be removed for cause “pursuant to uniform rules of procedure established by the Executive Office of the Governor”.

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Posted in Rule Making Authority, Salary & Budget, Selection

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Florida bills would provide additional funding for courts, but only if judicial immunity is retroactively ended and judicial disciplinary commission changed

January 9th, 2012

Ever since the 2006 effort in South Dakota to end judicial immunity and allow for civil and criminal prosecution for judicial decisions, called bluntly enough JAIL4Judges and defeated 89%-11%, legislators have taken an interest in similar efforts. Simultaneous with this interest has been the ongoing state budgetary crises. For the second time in as many years, Florida legislators are looking to consolidate both issues (see here for my post on the 2010 effort).

SB 1524 requires a retroactive elimination of judicial immunity in a variety of specified contexts dealing with court proceedings.  Additionally, it expands the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) and requires JQC investigation panels include at least 5 “common citizen electors” as a staff committee, none of whom may be “officers of the court” and who must prepare a separate report on the investigation that is to be made publicly available. Both the state courts system in general, and the JQC in particular, would be subject to an immediate audit by the state’s Auditor General and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability conduct full audit review of commission, a review to be repeated every two years.

Additionally, SB 1524 requires the Supreme Court create a plan “promoting civics for residents of this state, together with education concerning the judicial branch in order to develop trust and confidence in the state’s judicial system.” It also creates unified family courts, teen courts, drug courts and mental health courts in each judicial circuit.

If SB 1524, “or similar legislation” is passed, the provisions of SB 1526 would/could go into effect. That bill creates a Fiscal Stability Trust Fund to be administered by the Supreme Court and into which would be placed an automatic, guaranteed 1 percent of the state’s General Revenue Fund. The bill also declares “the judicial branch of state government shall be held harmless in years of fiscal deficits in the state as a matter of public safety” and permits revenues in the Fiscal Stability Trust Fund to remain in the fund at the end of every fiscal year.

Both bills have been prefiled in the Senate, with no committee assignments as of yet.

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Posted in Rule Making Authority, Salary & Budget, Structure Changes

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Interim Judiciary Committees meeting in Florida, Nebraska, Pennsylvania this week; focus on human trafficking

December 1st, 2011

With only a few weeks left before regular sessions start, interim committees are starting to wrap up their work and provide indications of what will be on the agendas for the 2012 sessions.

Pennsylvania’s House Judiciary Committee meets December 5 & 6 for votes on:

  • HB 235: posting of information relating to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline & duties on the Department of Labor and Industry, certain licensing authorities and prothonotaries
  • HB 1183: offenses of unlawful use of Internet and for unlawful use of computer scrub software
  • HB 1958: extensively revising provisions relating to registration of sexual offenders pursuant to Federal mandate
  • HB 1976: venue in personal injury actions against corporations and similar entities.
  • HB 2016: providing for the definition of “commercial sex”; further providing for trafficking of persons; and providing for the offense of selling or buying of minors into commercial sex and for action for coercion into prostitution.
  • SB 815: right to counsel in juvenile matters.
  • SB 817: use of restraints on children during court proceedings.

The Nebraska unicameral legislature’s Judiciary Committee meets December 5 for several interim studies, including

  • LR 243: human trafficking in Nebraska in connection with labor and sex trafficking.
  • LR 288: standing for foster parents in removal proceedings.
  • policies and procedures associated with immigrants who come in contact with law enforcement at Federal, state, and local levels.

In Florida, the House Judiciary Committee’s Criminal Justice Subcommittee will meet December 6 for presentations/workshops on:

  • juvenile justice reform initiatives
  • sexual offender statutes and the Federal Adam Walsh Act
  • mental health and veterans courts

The committee will also consider several bills:

The House Judiciary Committee’s Civil Justice Subcommittee will meet December 7 to consider several court specific bills:

  • HB 631: Repeals provisions relating to regular terms of Supreme Court & circuit courts; requiring judge to attend first day of each term of circuit court; requirement for judge to state reason for nonattendance, penalty for nonattendance of judge, adjournment of circuit court upon nonattendance of judge, calling all cases on docket at end of each term, regular terms of district courts of appeal, special terms of district courts of appeal, requirement that criminal trials be heard in term of court prior to civil cases, & requirement that persons in custody be arraigned & tried in term of court unless good cause is shown; conforms provisions. Allows Supreme Court to set terms of court for Supreme Court, district courts of appeal, & circuit courts. Provides that appellate courts may withdraw mandate within 120 days after its issuance.
  • HB 4125: Repeals provisions relating to selection of judges ad litem in circuit or county court.
  • HB 4133: Repeals provisions relating to district courts of appeal authority to make rules & regulations for their internal government.

Additional activity is set for other bills:

Finally also meeting on December 7 is the Florida Senate Judiciary committee, which will debate:

 

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Bans on court use of sharia/international law: Pennsylvania bill introduced

November 28th, 2011

Welcome New York Times readers!

Welcome Post-Gazette readers!

Since the last update of this list in October, one piece of legislation has been introduced.  Pennsylvania’s HB 2029 bans court references to any “foreign legal code or system” if doing so would impair constitutional rights.

Full roster of 2010 bills are available. 2011 and 2012 bills after the jump. » Read more: Bans on court use of sharia/international law: Pennsylvania bill introduced

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Posted in Jurisdiction, Other, Special Edition

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Florida House and Senate Judiciary Committees meets Nov. 15-17, will examine court efiling, court records, judicial census commissions

November 16th, 2011

The Florida House’s Judiciary Committee, Criminal Justice Subcommittee met November 15 to examine

  • HB 31: Funerals, Burials, and Memorial Services
  • HB 329:  Parole Interview Dates for Certain Inmates
  • HB 437:  Protection of Minors
  • HB 4073:  Florida Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention Authority

The Civil Justice Subcommittee met November 16 and unanimously approved several bills, including

  • HB 481 Provides requirements for storage of electronic filings for clerks of court. Requires papers & electronic filings to be electronically time stamped. Authorizes clerk to remove sealed or expunged court records from Official Records. Clarifies provisions concerning free copies of records to specified officials & their staffs. Defines term “copy of public record” for certain purposes. Increases threshold amount for automatic repayment of overpayments. Clarifies application of exemption from payment of fees & charges assessed by clerks of circuit courts. Authorizes use of electronic proof of publication affidavits. Requires certain persons to provide specific information to clerk to maintain public records exemption status of certain information.
  • HB 4067 Repeals provisions relating to compensation of marshals of district courts of appeal
  • HB 4069 Repeals provisions relating to requirement that county courts be open for voluntary pleas of guilty at all times, Sundays excepted.
  • HB 4081 Repeals provision stating that salary of judges of district courts of appeal shall be as provided by law.

The committee split 10-4 on HB 4055 which repeals provisions relating to restricting practice of law by retired justices, requirement to appoint Clerk of Supreme Court, requirement that clerk have office in Supreme Clerk Building, requirement that clerk perform duties as directed by court, & provision by which rules of court supersede statutes.

The Florida Senate Judiciary Committee meets November 17 to examine three items:

  • SB 520 Repeals provisions relating to guardians of incapacitated world war veterans.
  • SB 522 Repealing provisions relating to judicial census commissions.
  • Interim Project 2012-130 (Review Issues and Options Related to Foreclosure Processes) Presentation

 

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2011 Southern court interpreters legislation

November 8th, 2011

Law

Georgia HB 24 Substantially revises, supersedes, and modernizes provisions relating to evidence. Modifies existing state laws with respect to foreign language in the courts. Provides Supreme Court to set rules and requirements for foreign language interpreters. Specifies Supreme Court may establish fees to be paid for certification.

Texas HB 2249 / SB 652 ORIGINAL: Extends licensed court interpreter advisory board until 2019. ENACTED: Extends licensed court interpreter advisory board until 2017.

Texas HB 2945 / SB 1233 Allows court in a county that borders Mexico or the Gulf of Mexico to appoint a language interpreter who is not a licensed court interpreter.

Approved by one chamber

Florida HB 7199 Creates Supreme Court of Civil Appeals and Supreme Court of Criminal Appeals as panels of the state’s Supreme Court. Assigns Supreme Court of Civil Appeals responsibility to set standards for court interpreters. Approved by full House. Killed in Senate committee.

Texas SB 286 Provides that, if after examining the proposed ward’s assets the court determines the proposed ward is unable to pay for costs allocated to the proposed ward under this section, the county is responsible for those costs, including an interpreter. Approved by full Senate. Died in House committee.

Died in committee

North Carolina SB 132 Provides if a party or witness in court does not speak or understand the English language, the cost of interpreting or translating services for the party or witness is payable from funds appropriated to the Judicial Department. Provides where individual is indigent, the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Office of Indigent Defense Services may enter into a memorandum of understanding for the payment of interpreting and translating services. Provides except in cases of indigence, Administrative Office of the Courts not obligated to bear the cost of interpreting or translating services for noncourt services and activities, such as discovery, trial, preparation, and attorney/client meetings.

Texas HB 331 Authorizes governing body of a municipality to create a municipal court equal justice and education fund, portions of which may be used for interpreter services. Requires certain defendants to pay court costs for deposit in the fund.

Texas HB 2250 Ends requirement licensed court interpreter advisory board be subject to sunset law.

Texas SB 220 ORIGINAL: Provides that, if after examining the proposed ward’s assets the court determines the proposed ward is unable to pay for costs allocated to the proposed ward under this section, the county is responsible for those costs, including an interpreter. AMENDED: Removal of reference to interpreters.

 

 

 

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Ohio Issue 1: What other states tried to increase or remove their judicial retirement ages and how did they do?

October 27th, 2011

Ohio voters will head to the polls November 8 to decide the fate of Issue 1, marking the sixth time in 20 years the question of judicial retirement has been on the ballot (Hawaii 2006; Louisiana 1995 & 2003; Pennsylvania 2001; Texas 2007; Vermont 2002), with 4 victories to 2 defeats.

Four legislatures have adopted statutes to alter retirement (Indiana 2011; Kansas 2003 & 2010; North Carolina 1992; Vermont 2003). Moreover, Arizona has advanced a proposed change for the 2012 ballot while New York voters will probably address the issue in 2014. This marks a trend over the last several year in particular of state legislatures confronting judges living longer and the question of whether there should be any limits on service at all.

State by state breakdown below the fold.

» Read more: Ohio Issue 1: What other states tried to increase or remove their judicial retirement ages and how did they do?

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Florida Senate: Make non-efilers in courts pay a 3.5% surcharge?

October 17th, 2011

Cross-posted to Court Technology Bulletin.

I mentioned last week that the Florida Senate was going to meet tomorrow (October 18) and that the agenda included an item entitled

Presentations on issues related to electronic filing of court documents

I came across a (possibly) related piece of legislation: SB 410 of 2012. The bill contains two provisions:

(1) A litigant who is required to electronically file a court or other legal document in a court of this state, in the Division of Administrative Hearings, or in the Office of the Judges of Compensation Claims shall pay a surcharge in addition to any other cost incurred if the litigant files a paper document instead of electronically filing the document. The surcharge shall equal 3.5 percent of the cost of filing the document electronically.
(2) This section does not apply to a litigant who is indigent as determined by s. 27.52, Florida Statutes.

The obvious question is “who is required to electronically file a court or other legal document”? SB 170 of 2011, signed into law in June, requires prosecutors and public defenders to e-file documents with the clerk of court and report back on March 1, 2012 on the implementation of the program to the legislature (click here for prior posts). A 2009 statute (SB 1718) required the clerks of court to implement an electronic filing process by March 1, 2010.

Live coverage of the Senate Judiciary Committee e-filing presentation can be found here.

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