PRIOR PASSAGE - NONE
PRINTER'S NO. 1059
No. 941 Session of 1989
INTRODUCED BY BORTNER, HAYDEN, HAGARTY, HECKLER, O'DONNELL,
LASHINGER, BROUJOS, COWELL, MICHLOVIC, PISTELLA,
J. L. WRIGHT, MERRY, McVERRY, MAIALE, HERMAN, JOSEPHS, FOX,
KOSINSKI, REINARD, NAHILL, ITKIN, RITTER, SCHEETZ, CORRIGAN,
BLAUM, LINTON, CARLSON, MELIO, BUNT, FLICK, BISHOP, WILSON,
PICCOLA, McHALE, WOGAN, LEVDANSKY, ROEBUCK, EVANS, ACOSTA,
WILLIAMS AND JAMES, APRIL 3, 1989
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, APRIL 3, 1989
A JOINT RESOLUTION
1 Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth
2 of Pennsylvania, changing and adding provisions relating to
3 the selection of justices and judges.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby resolves as follows:
6 Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of
7 Pennsylvania is proposed in accordance with Article XI:
8 That sections 13, 14 and 15 of Article V be amended to read:
9 § 13. [Election] Selection of justices, judges and justices of
10 the peace; vacancies.
11 (a) Justices of the Supreme Court and judges of the Superior
12 Court and the Commonwealth Court shall be appointed to their
13 initial term by the Governor, with the advice and consent of a
14 majority of the members elected to the Senate. Within 45 days,
15 but after 30 days of the date on which he first receives the
1 list of recommendations from the Judicial Nominating Commission,
2 the Governor shall nominate from the list one person for each
3 vacancy with respect to which the list of recommendations has
4 been submitted. The Senate shall act on each nomination within
5 45 days of its submission. If the nomination is made during a
6 recess or after adjournment sine die, the Senate shall act upon
7 it within 45 days after its return or reconvening. If the Senate
8 fails to act upon a nomination submitted to it within the
9 required 45 days, the nominee shall take office as if the Senate
10 had consented to the nominee.
11 (b) A vacancy in the office of justice of the Supreme Court
12 or judge of the Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court shall
13 be filled by the procedure provided in section 13(a).
14 [(a)] (c) [Justices, judges] Judges, other than judges of
15 the Superior Court and the Commonwealth Court, and justices of
16 the peace shall be elected at the municipal election next
17 preceding the commencement of their respective terms of office
18 by the electors of the [Commonwealth or the] respective
19 districts in which they are to serve.
20 [(b)] (d) A vacancy in the office of [justice,] judge, other
21 than judge of the Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court, or
22 justice of the peace shall be filled by appointment by the
23 Governor. The appointment shall be with the advice and consent
24 of [two-thirds] a majority of the members elected to the
25 Senate[, except in the case of justices of the peace which shall
26 be by a majority]. The person so appointed shall serve for a
27 term ending on the first Monday of January following the next
28 municipal election more than ten months after the vacancy occurs
29 or for the remainder of the unexpired term whichever is less[,
30 except in the case of persons selected as additional judges to
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1 the Superior Court, where the General Assembly may stagger and
2 fix the length of the initial terms of such additional judges by
3 reference to any of the first, second and third municipal
4 elections more than ten months after the additional judges are
5 selected]. The manner by which any additional judges are
6 selected shall be provided by section 13(b) and this section for
7 the filling of vacancies in judicial offices.
8 [(c)] (e) The provisions of section 13(b) and section 13(d)
9 shall not apply [either] in the case of a vacancy to be filled
10 by retention election as provided in section 15(b)[, or].
11 Section 13(d) shall not apply in the case of a vacancy created
12 by failure of a justice or judge to file a declaration for
13 retention election as provided in section 15(b). In the case of
14 a vacancy occurring at the expiration of an appointive term
15 under section [13(b)] 13(d), the vacancy shall be filled by
16 election as provided in section [13(a)] 13(c).
17 [(d) At the primary election in 1969, the electors of the
18 Commonwealth may elect to have the justices and judges of the
19 Supreme, Superior, Commonwealth and all other statewide courts
20 appointed by the Governor from a list of persons qualified for
21 the offices submitted to him by the Judicial Qualifications
22 Commission. If a majority vote of those voting on the question
23 is in favor of this method of appointment, then whenever any
24 vacancy occurs thereafter for any reason in such court, the
25 Governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment in the manner
26 prescribed in this subsection. Such appointment shall not
27 require the consent of the Senate.
28 (e)] (f) Each justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the
29 Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court appointed by the
30 Governor under section [13(d)] 13(a) or section 13(b) shall hold
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1 office for an initial term of four years ending the first Monday
2 of January following the next municipal election more than [24]
3 48 months following the appointment.
4 § 14. [Judicial Qualifications Commission] Judicial Nominating
5 Commission.
6 [(a) Should the method of judicial selection be adopted as
7 provided in section 13 (d), there shall be a Judicial
8 Qualifications Commission, composed of four non-lawyer electors
9 appointed by the Governor and three non-judge members of the bar
10 of the Supreme Court appointed by the Supreme Court. No more
11 than four members shall be of the same political party. The
12 members of the commission shall serve for terms of seven years,
13 with one member being selected each year. The commission shall
14 consider all names submitted to it and recommend to the Governor
15 not fewer than ten nor more than 20 of those qualified for each
16 vacancy to be filled.
17 (b) During his term, no member shall hold a public office or
18 public appointment for which he receives compensation, nor shall
19 he hold office in a political party or political organization.
20 (c) A vacancy on the commission shall be filled by the
21 appointing authority for the balance of the term.]
22 (a) There shall be a Judicial Nominating Commission which
23 shall evaluate the qualifications of applicants for appointment
24 to the office of justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the
25 Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court. The commission shall
26 include a fair representation of men and women and shall reflect
27 fairly the geographical, political, economic and ethnic
28 diversity of the Commonwealth.
29 (b) The commission shall consist of 16 Pennsylvania
30 residents, of whom eight shall be appointed by the Governor and
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1 two each shall be appointed by the President pro tempore of the
2 Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate
3 Minority Leader and the House Minority Leader. Of the eight
4 members appointed by the Governor, only four shall be members of
5 the bar of the Supreme Court, and no more than four shall be
6 enrolled in the same political party. One of the two members
7 appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, the
8 Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate Minority
9 Leader and the House Minority Leader shall be a member of the
10 bar of the Supreme Court.
11 (c) Each commissioner shall be appointed for a full four-
12 year term, except as provided for initial commissioners. The
13 initial commissioners shall serve as follows: the commissioners
14 appointed by the Governor, two for one year, two for two years,
15 two for three years and two for four years; the commissioners
16 appointed by the President pro tempore of the Senate, one for
17 four years and one for one year; the commissioners appointed by
18 the Speaker of the House of Representatives, one for four years
19 and one for one year; the commissioners appointed by the
20 Minority Leader in the Senate, one for three years and one for
21 two years; and the commissioners appointed by the Minority
22 Leader in the House of Representatives, one for three years and
23 one for two years. The Governor shall designate one of the
24 commissioners as chairman of the commission. The chairman shall
25 serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
26 (d) No commissioner shall be appointed to more than two
27 successive full four-year terms. An appointment to fill an
28 unexpired term which has less than two years to run shall not be
29 deemed a full term. A vacancy on the commission shall be filled
30 for the balance of the term in the same manner that the vacating
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1 member was appointed. During his term of service, no
2 commissioner shall hold a public office or public appointment,
3 compensated or uncompensated, nor shall he hold office in any
4 political party or political organization.
5 (e) Each commissioner shall receive a reasonable per diem in
6 compensation for his service and shall be reimbursed for
7 reasonable expenses incurred in the exercise of his duties.
8 (f) The commission shall establish its own rules of
9 procedure and shall have the power, by law, to issue subpoenas
10 and take testimony under oath concerning the qualifications of
11 any applicant for judicial office within the jurisdiction of the
12 commission.
13 (g) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of justice of
14 the Supreme Court or judge of the Superior Court or the
15 Commonwealth Court, the commission shall publicly advertise such
16 vacancy and solicit applications. From the applications
17 received, the commission shall prepare and submit to the
18 Governor a list of at least five but not more than seven persons
19 who are qualified to hold that judicial office. Each person
20 recommended to the Governor shall, for an aggregate of ten
21 years, have either practiced law or served as judge of a court
22 or courts of record in Pennsylvania or have been engaged in a
23 law-related occupation. The list shall be submitted to the
24 Governor no later than 90 days after the vacancy occurs. When
25 more than one vacancy on the same court exists, the number of
26 persons on the list which is submitted to the Governor shall be
27 increased by two persons for each additional vacancy.
28 (h) The list submitted to the Governor shall contain the
29 names of those persons who received affirmative votes from ten
30 or more commissioners, provided that the number of persons shall
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1 not exceed the limitations imposed by subsection (g).
2 Immediately following submission of the list to the Governor,
3 the commission shall make public both the list and a statement
4 concerning each person recommended to the Governor.
5 (i) If a justice or judge declares for retention at the
6 conclusion of the initial four-year term, the commission shall
7 reevaluate a justice's or judge's qualifications, including, but
8 not limited to, judicial performance during the initial term and
9 comments solicited from the public concerning judicial
10 performance. The commission shall publicly disseminate its
11 conclusion and its reasons as to whether the justice or judge
12 should or should not be retained for a full ten-year term. The
13 commission shall conduct such reviews and publicly state its
14 recommendations and reasons prior to every retention election in
15 which a justice of the Supreme Court or judge of the Superior
16 Court or the Commonwealth Court seeks a regular term.
17 (j) The General Assembly shall appropriate adequate funds to
18 the commission to provide for an adequate staff and fulfillment
19 of the commission's responsibilities.
20 § 15. Tenure of justices, judges and justices of the peace.
21 (a) The regular term of office of justices and judges shall
22 be ten years and the regular term of office for judges of the
23 municipal court and traffic court in the City of Philadelphia
24 and of justices of the peace shall be six years. The tenure of
25 any justice or judge shall not be affected by changes in
26 judicial districts or by reduction in the number of judges.
27 (b) A justice or judge [elected under section 13(a),] of the
28 Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court appointed under section
29 [13(d)] 13(a) or section 13(b) or retained under this section
30 15(b) or a judge elected under section 13(c) or retained under
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1 this section 15(b) may file a declaration of candidacy for
2 retention election with the officer of the Commonwealth who
3 under law shall have supervision over elections on or before the
4 first Monday of January of the year preceding the year in which
5 his term of office expires. If no declaration is filed, a
6 vacancy shall exist upon the expiration of the term of office of
7 such justice or judge, to be filled by [election] appointment
8 under section 13(a) or by [appointment] election under section
9 [13(d)] 13(c) [if applicable]. If a justice or judge files a
10 declaration, his name shall be submitted to the electors without
11 party designation, on a separate judicial ballot or in a
12 separate column on voting machines, at the municipal election
13 immediately preceding the expiration of the term of office of
14 the justice or judge, to determine only the question whether he
15 shall be retained in office. If a majority is against retention,
16 a vacancy shall exist upon the expiration of his term of office,
17 to be filled by appointment under section 13(b) or under section
18 13(d) [if applicable]. If a majority favors retention, the
19 justice or judge shall serve for the regular term of office
20 provided herein, unless sooner removed or retired. At the
21 expiration of each term a justice or judge shall be eligible for
22 retention as provided herein, subject only to the retirement
23 provisions of this article.
24 Section 2. Section 1 shall be submitted by the Secretary of
25 the Commonwealth at the general or municipal election next held
26 after the advertising requirements of section 1 of Article XI of
27 the Constitution of Pennsylvania have been satisfied.
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