The Evaluation Process
Something Old. . .
While the commission was only created in 2008, it has benefited from the experience of the judiciary and the groundwork it laid during the early years of evaluating judicial performance. Thus, the commission will continue the process of surveying both attorneys and jurors, although the survey questionnaires will change and, in some cases, the method of survey administration will also change.
The commission will also continue evaluating each judge's compliance with certain other objective measures of performance, such as compliance with judicial education standards and compliance with the Code of Judicial Conduct. The Commission will also retain the judiciary's system of dividing a judge's term into two evaluation cycles (or three cycles for supreme court justices).
Information gathered from the first cycle will be available both to the judge for performance improvement purposes and, in a general way, to the Administrative Office of the Courts for judicial education purposes. Information from the second evaluation (or third for supreme court justices) will provide the primary basis for the Commission's retention election report and recommendation to the voters.
Something New. . .
Under the new system, the survey groups will be expanded to include court staff. In addition to typical survey questions, all respondents will be strongly encouraged to comment in narrative form about various aspects of judicial performance. The anonymity of all comments will be strictly protected. In addition, a courtroom observation program will be created.
The Commission will prepare a written report on each judge from the data it gathers and will vote on whether to recommend each judge for retention. Public comment will be encouraged, and this website will provide easy access for members of the public to discover how each judge fared in the evaluation process.