REPORT TITLE:
Judges Evaluations; Merit Pay



DESCRIPTION:
Requires the Judiciary to establish an incentive and merit pay
program for all appellate and trial court judges.  Requires the
judicial selection commission to establish and report on a
proposal to establish a merit pay system for judges based upon
judicial evaluations.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        3177
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO JUDGES.


BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1 
 2      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that in late 1990, the
 
 3 Hawaii supreme court created a special committee on judicial
 
 4 performance that subsequently established the supreme court's
 
 5 judicial evaluation program.  The legislature further finds that
 
 6 there are approximately seventy-three full-time appellate and
 
 7 trial judges, if all vacancies are filled.  During the nine years
 
 8 since the committee began its work, 34 judges have been
 
 9 officially evaluated, and the data needed for additional
 
10 evaluations has been collected.  However, because there is no
 
11 statutory requirement for judicial evaluations nor for public
 
12 reporting of such evalutions, it is difficult to assess the
 
13 efficacy the evalution program.
 
14      The legislature firmly believes that a judicial evaluation
 
15 program plays an essential role in maintaining the public's
 
16 confidence in the judicial process.  In addition, the legislature
 
17 recognizes that such an evaluation program improves judicial
 
18 performance by providing systematic feedback to judges on their
 
19 strengths, their weaknesses, and how others view their
 
20 performance.  
 

 
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 1      Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to:
 
 2      (1)  Create a merit-based judicial pay system; and
 
 3      (2)  Establish criteria that the judicial selection
 
 4           commission may consider in determining judicial merit.
 
 5      SECTION 2. Section 602-2, Hawaii Revised Statues, is amended
 
 6 to read as follows:
 
 7      "§602-2 Salary, supreme court justices.  Effective July 1,
 
 8 1999, the salary of the chief justice of the supreme court shall
 
 9 be [$98,571] $105,206 a year and the salary of each associate
 
10 justice of the supreme court shall be [$97,531] $104,096 a year.
 
11 Effective July 1, 2000, the salary of the chief justice of the
 
12 supreme court shall be [$102,514] $116,779 a year and the salary
 
13 of each associate justice of the supreme court shall be
 
14 [$101,432] $115,547 a year.  The salary of any justice may be
 
15 increased based upon the recommendation of the judicial selection
 
16 commission after reviewing the justice's judicial evaluation."
 
17      SECTION 3.  Section 602-52, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
18 amended to read as follows:
 
19      "§602-52  Salary.  Effective July 1, 1999, the salary of the
 
20 chief judge of the intermediate appellate court shall be
 
21 [$94,931] $101,321 a year and the salary of each associate judge
 
22 shall be [$93,371] $99,656 a year.  Effective July 1, 2000, the
 
23 salary of the chief judge of the intermediate appellate court
 

 
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                                     S.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 shall be [$98,728] $112,466 a year and the salary of each
 
 2 associate judge shall be [$97,106] $110,618 a year.  The salary
 
 3 of any judge may be increased based upon the recommendation of
 
 4 the judicial selection commission after reviewing the judge's
 
 5 judicial evaluation."
 
 6      SECTION 4.  Section 603-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
 7 amended to read as follows:
 
 8      "§603-5 Salary of circuit court judges.  Effective July 1,
 
 9 1999, the salary of each circuit court judge of the various
 
10 circuit courts of the State shall be [$90,251] $96,326 a year.
 
11 Effective July 1, 2000, the salary of each circuit court judge of
 
12 the various circuit courts of the State shall be [$93,861]
 
13 $106,922 a year.  The salary of any judge may be increased based
 
14 upon the recommendation of the judicial selection commission
 
15 after reviewing a judge's judicial evaluation." 
 
16      SECTION 5.  Section 604-2.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended to read as follows:
 
18      "§604-2.5  Salary of district judges.  Effective July 1,
 
19 1999, the salary of each district court judge of the various
 
20 district courts of the State shall be [$85,051] $90,776 a year.
 
21 Effective July 1, 2000, the salary of each district court judge
 
22 of the various district courts of the State shall be [$88,453]
 
23 $100,761 a year.  The salary of any judge may be increased based
 

 
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 1 upon the recommendation of the judicial selection commission
 
 2 after reviewing the judge's judicial evaluation.
 
 3      Whenever the chief justice appoints a district court judge
 
 4 of any of the various district courts of the State to serve
 
 5 temporarily as a circuit court judge of any of the various
 
 6 circuit courts of the State, the judge shall receive per diem
 
 7 compensation for the days on which actual service is rendered
 
 8 based on the monthly rate of compensation paid to a circuit court
 
 9 judge.  For the purpose of determining per diem compensation in
 
10 this section, a month shall be deemed to consist of twenty-one
 
11 days."
 
12      SECTION 6.  The judicial selection commission, in
 
13 cooperation with the hawaii state bar association, shall conduct
 
14 a study to determine the most appropriate method by which the
 
15 merit pay provisions of this Act may be implemented and enforced.
 
16 The judicial selection commission shall submit a report of its
 
17 findings and recommendations to the legislature no later than
 
18 twenty days prior to the convening of the 2001 regular session.
 
19      SECTION 7.  The factors to be considered by the judicial
 
20 selection commission in conducting a judicial performance
 
21 evaluation may include, but shall not be limited to:
 
22      (1)  Legal knowledge and analysis, including knowledge of
 
23           the law, ability to analyze legal precedent and make
 

 
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 1           well-reasoned extrapolations of what the law should or
 
 2           would be in a new area, ability to correctly apply the
 
 3           law to specific factual circumstances, ability to
 
 4           recognize and consider a reasonable argument for a
 
 5           change in the law, and consistency and supportability
 
 6           of legal conclusions;
 
 7      (2)  Factual analysis, including ability to listen, ability
 
 8           to grasp complex factual situations, ability to pick
 
 9           out important facts, ability to accurately assess
 
10           witness reliability, ability to empathize with people
 
11           from different backgrounds and of widely different
 
12           personalities, willingness to keep an open mind, and
 
13           consistency and supportability of findings of fact;
 
14      (3)  Control of courtroom or hearing, including knowledge of
 
15           procedural rules, ability to control the courtroom,
 
16           ability to keep hearings and trials on schedule,
 
17           ability to move cases expeditiously through the system,
 
18           willingness to take an active role in pre-trial
 
19           processes such as discovery disputes and settlement and
 
20           alternative dispute resolution discussions, and ability
 
21           to balance speed of resolution with fairness to all
 
22           participants in a case;
 
23      (5)  Interaction with litigants, attorneys, court staff, and
 

 
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 1           other judges, including courtesy and professional
 
 2           behavior inside and out of the courtroom, and ability
 
 3           to avoid favoritism or the appearance of favoritism;
 
 4           and
 
 5      (6)  Interaction with the public, including willingness to
 
 6           spend time educating the public about the judiciary,
 
 7           appropriate public demeanor, ability to comply with all
 
 8           rules regarding judicial conduct, and ability to avoid
 
 9           impropriety or the appearance of impropriety.
 
10 The popularity of any decision by a judge shall not be considered
 
11 as a factor in that judge's performance review.  
 
12      SECTION 8.  There is appropriated out of the general
 
13 revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         , or so much
 
14 thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2000-2001, for the
 
15 purposes stated in section 6.
 
16      SECTION 9.  The sum appropriated shall be expended by the
 
17 judiciary for the purposes of this Act.
 
18      SECTION 10.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
19 New statutory material is underscored.
 
20      SECTION 11.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
21 
 
22                           INTRODUCED BY:_________________________