THE SENATE                           S.C.R. NO.            116
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                    SENATE  CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION
  REQUESTING THE JUDICIARY TO PROMOTE EXCELLENCE IN THE JUDICIARY
    THROUGH RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE, REVIEW OF JUDICIAL
    PERFORMANCE, AND PUBLIC EDUCATION.



 1        WHEREAS, having excellent judges and justices benefits all
 2   the people of Hawaii and promotes public confidence in the
 3   Judiciary; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, feedback on their performance helps Hawaii's
 6   judges and justices to strive for excellence; and
 7   
 8        WHEREAS, Article VI, Section 3, of the Constitution of the
 9   State of Hawaii provides that at least six months before the
10   expiration of a judge's or justice's term of office, that
11   person must petition the Judicial Selection Commission to be
12   retained in office or inform the Commission of an intention to
13   retire; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, that section further provides that, if the
16   Judicial Selection Commission determines that the justice or
17   judge should be retained in office, the Commission "shall renew
18   the term of office of such judge or justice for the period
19   provided by this section or by law;" and
20   
21        WHEREAS, there is no constitutional requirement that the
22   Judicial Selection Commission receive public input or consider
23   any particular factor in recommending that a particular justice
24   or judge be retained in office; and
25   
26        WHEREAS, the Judicial Selection Commission nonetheless
27   actively solicits confidential comments from the public
28   regarding a justice or judge up for retention; and
29   
30        WHEREAS, the Chief Justice conducts evaluations of the
31   performance on the bench of judges and assists the judges in
32   finding areas in which their performance could improve; and
33   
34        WHEREAS, judicial evaluations also should include the
35   viewpoints of former judges and members of the community as to
36   the performance of a judge or justice during that person's term
37   of office; and

 
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                                                        S.D. 1
                                                        


 
 1        WHEREAS, judicial evaluations are not presently conducted
 2   by the Chief Justice for Intermediate Court of Appeals judges
 3   nor Supreme Court justices; and
 4   
 5        WHEREAS, judicial evaluations of members of the
 6   Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court would
 7   assist them in striving for excellence, as with judges of the
 8   lower courts; and
 9   
10        WHEREAS, the public is largely unaware of the public
11   comment and judicial evaluation process that occurs before a
12   judge or justice is retained and the evaluation process
13   thereafter; and
14   
15        WHEREAS, greater public awareness of the public comment
16   and judicial evaluation process will increase public confidence
17   in the judiciary; now, therefore,
18   
19        BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twentieth Legislature
20   of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2000, the House of
21   Representatives concurring, that the Judiciary is requested to
22   provide opportunities for public recognition of excellent
23   judges and justices; and
24   
25        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Justice is urged to
26   continue the practice of conducting judicial evaluations; and
27   
28        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Justice is
29   encouraged to open the judicial evaluation process to a panel
30   of qualified persons, including former judges or justices and
31   members of the community; and
32   
33        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary is urged to
34   create a process for judicial evaluation of members of the
35   Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court; and
36   
37        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Judiciary is requested to
38   carry out a public relations campaign to educate the general
39   public as to the evaluation process; and
40   
41        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this
42   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chief Justice of
43   the Hawaii Supreme Court.