THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            116
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING THE JUDICIAL SELECTION COMMISSION TO CONDUCT PUBLIC
    HEARINGS AND CONSIDER JUDICIAL PERFORMANCE BASED UPON PEER
    REVIEW WITH RESPECT TO JUSTICES AND JUDGES WHO ARE BEING
    CONSIDERED FOR RETENTION.



 1        WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that there is little
 2   meaningful opportunity for public input in the process of
 3   retaining a justice or judge in office; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 3, of the Constitution of the
 6   State of Hawaii provides that at least six months before the
 7   expiration of a justice's or judge's term of office, that
 8   person must petition the Judicial Selection Commission to be
 9   retained in office or inform the Commission of an intention to
10   retire; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, that section further provides that, if the
13   Judicial Selection Commission determines that the justice or
14   judge should be retained in office, the Commission "shall renew
15   the term of office of such justice or judge for the period
16   provided by this section or by law"; and
17   
18        WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 4, of the Constitution
19   further provides that the deliberations of the Commission are
20   to be confidential; and
21   
22        WHEREAS, there is no constitutional requirement that the
23   Judicial Selection Commission receive public input or consider
24   any particular factor in recommending that a particular justice
25   or judge be retained in office; and
26   
27        WHEREAS, other states routinely hold public hearings in
28   the course of evaluating judges for retention in office; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, for example, the Alaska Judicial Council holds
31   statewide public hearings for all judges seeking retention,
32   using such means as teleconferencing and public meetings, and
33   publishes statewide newspaper advertisements and airs public
34   service announcements on radio stations to encourage public
35   participation; and
36   

 
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 1        WHEREAS, the Alaska Judicial Council also widely
 2   publicizes the evaluation process through frequent press
 3   releases, personal contacts with radio and television stations,
 4   speeches to public groups, and feature articles in newspapers;
 5   and
 6   
 7        WHEREAS, public hearings give citizens a valuable
 8   opportunity to speak out about their experiences with judges
 9   and provide a forum in which citizens can hear the opinions of
10   others; and
11   
12        WHEREAS, in addition to soliciting community input on the
13   issue of retention, the Judicial Selection Commission also
14   should consider the performance of a justice or judge on the
15   bench during that person's term of office, as viewed by that
16   person's peers on the bench, in the course of the Commission's
17   deliberations as to whether to retain a justice or judge in
18   office; and
19   
20        WHEREAS, opening the judicial retention process to public
21   input and requiring the Judicial Selection Commission to
22   consider judicial performance based upon peer review would
23   promote greater public confidence in the judicial selection and
24   retention process; now, therefore,
25   
26        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
27   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
28   Representatives concurring, that the Judicial Selection
29   Commission is requested to conduct public hearings and consider
30   judicial performance based upon peer review with respect to
31   justices and judges who are being considered for retention; and
32   
33        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judicial Selection
34   Commission is requested to offer opportunities for members of
35   the public to provide confidential testimony as part of its
36   hearing and review process; and
37   
38        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judicial Selection
39   Commission is requested to exclude consideration of the
40   popularity of a judge's decisions from the criteria for its
41   retention recommendations; and
42   
43        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
44   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
45   Judicial Selection Commission and the Chief Justice of the
46   Hawaii Supreme Court.
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49                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________