Bill Text: IA HF260 | 2015-2016 | 86th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the nomination and qualifications of district judges. (Formerly HSB 43)

Spectrum: Committee Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-03-17 - Subcommittee, Hogg, Horn, and Whitver. S.J. 600. [HF260 Detail]

Download: Iowa-2015-HF260-Introduced.html

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House File 260 - Introduced




                                 HOUSE FILE       
                                 BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

                                 (SUCCESSOR TO HSB 43)

                                      A BILL FOR

  1 An Act relating to the nomination and qualifications of
  2    district judges.
  3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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PAG LIN



  1  1    Section 1.  Section 46.14, subsection 1, Code 2015, is
  1  2 amended to read as follows:
  1  3    1.  Each judicial nominating commission shall carefully
  1  4 consider the individuals available for judge, and within sixty
  1  5 days after receiving notice of a vacancy shall certify to the
  1  6 governor and the chief justice the proper number of nominees,
  1  7 in alphabetical order. Such nominees shall be chosen by the
  1  8 affirmative vote of a majority of the full statutory number
  1  9 of commissioners upon the basis of their qualifications and
  1 10 without regard to political affiliation. Nominees shall be
  1 11 members of the bar of Iowa, shall be residents of the state or
  1 12 district of the court to which they are nominated, and shall
  1 13 be of such age that they will be able to serve an initial and
  1 14 one regular term of office to which they are nominated before
  1 15 reaching the age of seventy=two years. Nominees for district
  1 16 judge shall file a certified application form, to be provided
  1 17 by the supreme court, with the chairperson of the district
  1 18 judicial nominating commission. Absence of a commissioner or
  1 19 vacancy upon the commission shall not invalidate a nomination.
  1 20 The chairperson of the commission shall promptly certify the
  1 21 names of the nominees, in alphabetical order, to the governor
  1 22 and the chief justice.
  1 23    Sec. 2.  Section 46.14, Code 2015, is amended by adding the
  1 24 following new subsection:
  1 25    NEW SUBSECTION.  1A.  An applicant for district judge shall
  1 26 file a certified application form, to be provided by the
  1 27 supreme court, with the chairperson of the district judicial
  1 28 nominating commission.
  1 29    Sec. 3.  NEW SECTION.  46.15A  District judges == residence
  1 30 requirement.
  1 31    A district judge appointee shall be a resident of the
  1 32 judicial district before assuming office or, if the judicial
  1 33 district is divided into judicial election districts, the
  1 34 appointee shall be a resident of the judicial election district
  1 35 to which the appointment is made before commencing judicial
  2  1 duties.
  2  2    Sec. 4.  Section 602.6201, subsection 2, Code 2015, is
  2  3 amended to read as follows:
  2  4    2.  A district judge must be a resident of the judicial
  2  5 election district in to which appointed and retained. Subject
  2  6 to the provision for reassignment of judges under section
  2  7 602.6108, a district judge shall serve in the district of the
  2  8 judge's residence while in office, regardless of the number of
  2  9 judgeships to which the district is entitled under the formula
  2 10 prescribed by the supreme court in subsection 3.
  2 11                           EXPLANATION
  2 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
  2 13 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly.
  2 14    This bill relates to the nomination and qualifications of
  2 15 district judges.
  2 16    The bill separates the nomination process and qualifications
  2 17 of a district judge from the nomination process and
  2 18 qualifications of an appeals court judge or supreme court
  2 19 justice and creates new Code subsection 46.14(1A) for the
  2 20 district judge application and nomination process.
  2 21    The bill also specifies that a district judge appointee
  2 22 shall be a resident of the judicial district to which the
  2 23 appointment is made before assuming office.  If the judicial
  2 24 district is divided into judicial election districts, the
  2 25 bill specifies that the appointee shall be a resident of the
  2 26 judicial election district to which the appointment is made
  2 27 before commencing judicial duties.
  2 28    The bill makes a conforming amendment to Code section
  2 29 602.6201.
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