Kansas Statutes

Chapter 20: Courts

Article 32: Commission On Judicial Performance

Statutes:

• 20-3201: Commission on judicial performance; duties of judicial council, commission on judicial qualifications and office of judicial administration; sunset.
• 20-3202: Same; membership; not subject to open meetings act; definitions.
• 20-3203: Same; goals of evaluation process.
• 20-3204: Same; surveys; performance standards; plans and procedures; public recommendations; adoption of rules.
• 20-3205: Same; confidentiality of surveys and results; subject to rules.
• 20-3206: Same; reduction or discontinuance of program.
• 20-3207: Same; judicial performance fund.
• 20-3208: Same; employment of retirants to perform services therefor; agreement; stipend, amount; state health care benefits.

• 20-3201: Commission on judicial performance; duties of judicial council, commission on judicial qualifications and office of judicial administration; sunset. On and after July 1, 2006: (a) The commission on judicial performance is hereby established as an independent committee of the Kansas judicial council. The budget of the commission shall be a part of the budget of the judicial council. The judicial council shall provide administrative assistance to the commission. The commission on judicial qualifications and the office of judicial administration shall assist the commission, if requested by the commission.

        (b)   The provisions of K.S.A. 20-3201 through 20-3207, and amendments thereto shall expire on June 30, 2010.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 1; May 25.

• 20-3202: Same; membership; not subject to open meetings act; definitions. On and after July 1, 2006: (a) The commission shall consist of thirteen members appointed by the judicial council. The council shall appoint commission members of outstanding competence and reputation. Six members of the commission shall be non-lawyers and six members of the commission shall be lawyers, justices or judges. The judicial council shall appoint the chair of the commission, who shall be a lawyer, justice or judge. At least one non-lawyer commission member and at least one lawyer, justice or judge commission member shall reside in each congressional district. The rules of the commission shall provide that the terms of the commission members are staggered.

        (b)   For the purposes of K.S.A. 20-3201 through 20-3207, and amendments thereto, the commission shall not be subject to the Kansas open meetings act as provided in K.S.A. 75-4317 et seq., and amendments thereto.

        (c)   As used in K.S.A. 20-3201 through 20-3207, and amendments thereto:

        (1)   "Lawyer" means an attorney registered as active pursuant to supreme court rule.

        (2)   "Judge" means a current or retired Kansas judge of the district court and a current or retired judge of the Kansas court of appeals.

        (3)   "Justice" means a current or retired justice of the Kansas supreme court.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 2; May 25.

• 20-3203: Same; goals of evaluation process. On and after July 1, 2006, the goals of the judicial performance evaluation process are:

        (a)   To improve the judicial performance of individual judges and justices and thereby improve the judiciary as a whole;

        (b)   where judges and justices are subject to retention elections, to disseminate the results from the judicial performance evaluation process to enable voters to make informed decisions about continuing judges and justices in office; and

        (c)   to protect judicial independence while promoting public accountability of the judiciary.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 3; May 25.

• 20-3204: Same; surveys; performance standards; plans and procedures; public recommendations; adoption of rules. On and after July 1, 2006, the commission shall, with the aid of professionals where appropriate:

        (a)   Create surveys of court users who have directly observed the judge's or justice's performance or interacted with the judge or justice, including attorneys, litigants, jurors and other persons the commission deems appropriate. The surveys shall be dispersed, collected and tabulated by an independent organization or in any other manner that insures confidentiality. The surveys shall ask those surveyed to evaluate the judges and justices on such judge's or justice's ability, integrity, impartiality, communication skills, professionalism, temperament and administrative capacity suitable to the jurisdiction and level of court;

        (b)   develop clear, measurable performance standards upon which the survey questions are based;

        (c)   develop dissemination plans that:

        (1)   Protect confidentiality when the judicial performance evaluation is used only for self-improvement;

        (2)   make the judicial performance evaluation results widely available when they are to be used to assist voters in evaluating the performance of judges and justices subject to retention elections; and

        (3)   make public recommendations regarding whether or not to retain judges and justices subject to retention elections;

        (d)   develop a procedure for judges and justices to receive and respond to survey results before such results are made public;

        (e)   establish a mechanism to incorporate evaluation results in designing judicial education programs; and

        (f)   adopt rules for implementation of the judicial performance evaluation process, subject to approval by the Kansas supreme court.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 4; May 25.

• 20-3205: Same; confidentiality of surveys and results; subject to rules. On and after July 1, 2006, the surveys of court users, survey results and judicial performance evaluation results are confidential and shall not be disclosed except in accordance with the rules of the commission or the Kansas supreme court. The evaluation of judges subject to political elections shall be used solely for self-improvement. A judge subject to political elections shall not reveal data from any portion of the survey or the results of the survey.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 5; May 25.

• 20-3206: Same; reduction or discontinuance of program. On and after July 1, 2006, upon certification by the commission to the judicial council that: (a) Funding is not adequate to support a judicial evaluation program of high quality; (b) the Kansas supreme court has failed to adopt appropriate rules as set forth in this act; or (c) in the opinion of the commission the program is no longer of appropriate value, then the program may be reduced in scope or discontinued as determined by the judicial council.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 6; May 25.

• 20-3207: Same; judicial performance fund. On and after July 1, 2006, there is hereby established in the state treasury the judicial performance fund. All moneys credited to the fund shall be used for the judicial performance evaluation process. All expenditures from the judicial performance fund shall be made in accordance with appropriation acts and upon warrants of the director of accounts and reports issued pursuant to expenditures approved by the chairperson of the Kansas judicial council or by the person or persons designated by the chairperson of the Kansas judicial council.

        History:   L. 2006, ch. 195, § 7; May 25.

• 20-3208: Same; employment of retirants to perform services therefor; agreement; stipend, amount; state health care benefits. On and after July 1, 2007, a retired justice of the supreme court, retired judge of the court of appeals or retired judge of the district court who retired pursuant to the retirement system for judges as provided pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 20-2601 et seq., and amendments thereto, may enter into a written agreement as provided in this section to perform services for the commission on judicial performance while receiving service retirement benefits pursuant to the provisions of the retirement system for judges. Such retired justice or judge shall enter into a written agreement with the judicial council, established pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 20-2201, and amendments thereto, to perform duties assigned by the judicial council to assist the commission in the judicial performance evaluation process prescribed pursuant to the provisions of K.S.A. 20-3201 et seq., and amendments thereto. Such retired justice or judge shall be available to perform assigned duties for not more than 104 days or 40% of each year. Notwithstanding the provisions of law in effect on the retirement date of a retired justice or judge, such justice or judge shall receive a stipend, payable monthly, equal to 25% of the monthly salary of such retired justice or judge at the time of retirement of such retired justice or judge. Such agreement shall be for a period of not more than two years. A retired justice or judge may enter into subsequent agreements. The judicial council is hereby authorized and may pay on behalf of such retired justice or judge the amount specified by the Kansas state employees health care commission under the provisions of K.S.A. 75-6508, and amendments thereto, as if the retired justice or judge is serving as a full-time employee of the judicial council and participating in the state health care benefits program to provide for such participation of the retired justice or judge. Any retired justice or judge entering into a written agreement with the judicial council to be available to perform assigned duties pursuant to this section for less than 104 days or 40% of each year for a proportionally reduced stipend shall be considered as if the retired justice or judge is serving under a part-time appointment as an employee of the judicial council and participating in the state health care benefits program to provide for such participation of the retired justice or judge, and the judicial council may pay on behalf of the retired justice or judge the amount specified by the Kansas state employees health care commission under the provisions of K.S.A. 75-6508, and amendments thereto. The monthly stipend provided by this act shall not be counted toward the annual limitation on compensation provided in K.S.A. 20-2616, and amendments thereto. A retired justice or judge who has fulfilled the requirements of an agreement entered into pursuant to this section may accept judicial assignments and be compensated in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 20-310b, 20-2616 and 20-2622, and amendments thereto. If an assignment given to a retired justice or judge pursuant to the provisions of this section will require the retired justice or judge to exceed the service limit provided in this section, the retired justice or judge shall be compensated in accordance with the provisions of K.S.A. 20-2616, and amendments thereto.

        History:   L. 2007, ch. 24, § 1; July 1.