Rule 28-201. Commission created; members; staff; meetings.

A. Creation. There is created the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission. The commission shall be appointed by the Supreme Court and shall be under the direction of and shall be considered an arm of the Supreme Court. The commission shall consist of fifteen members, eight lay person members and seven lawyer members. To assure that the commission reflects adequate representation of the ethnic, economic, geographic and political diversity of the state, the Supreme Court shall appoint members from a list of three names nominated for each position. A majority of the total number of appointed members of the commission shall constitute a quorum. B. Nominations. Commission members shall be selected as follows: (1) two lay persons to be appointed from persons nominated by the governor; (2) two lay persons and one lawyer to be appointed from persons nominated by the chief justice; (3) one lay person and one lawyer to be appointed from persons nominated by the speaker of the house; (4) one lay person and one lawyer to be appointed from persons nominated by the president pro tem of the senate; (5) one lay person and one lawyer to be appointed from persons nominated by the minority leader of the house; (6) one lay person and one lawyer to be appointed from persons nominated by the minority leader of the senate; and (7) two lawyers to be appointed from persons nominated by the president of the state bar. If a nominating authority does not submit names of nominees within a reasonable time, the chief justice shall nominate additional members for those positions. The director of the Administrative Office of the Courts shall serve as an ex officio member of the commission. C. Terms of office. The term of office of members of the commission shall be six (6) years. The initial terms shall be staggered so that the terms of five members shall expire at the end of each two (2) year period. No member shall serve more than two full terms. D. Chair and vice chair. The Supreme Court shall appoint a chair and vice-chair. The chair of the commission shall vote only in the event of a tie. E. Removal for cause. The Supreme Court may remove any member of the commission for cause. “Cause” means any malfeasance or nonfeasance in carrying out the commissioner’s official duties and responsibilities, including improper disclosure of confidential information, failure to disclose any basis for recusal or to recuse when appropriate, advocating for or against the retention of any particular judge outside of commission deliberations or failure to attend to the duties and responsibilities of the commission. If any commission member, including the chair or vice chair, shall be absent from three (3) consecutive commission meetings, that person is deemed to have resigned from the commission. Said resignation shall be reported to the Supreme Court by the chair or vice-chair in writing. F. Vacancies. In the event of a vacancy during the term of a member of the commission, the Supreme Court shall appoint a person nominated for the position pursuant to Paragraph A of this rule to serve the remainder of the term. G. Subcommittees. The commission may appoint subcommittees provided that any subcommittee evaluating a judge shall be broadly representative of the state as a whole. H. Staff. The Administrative Office of the Courts shall staff the commission. The function of the staff is to assist the commission in the performance of its duties. Staff may attend but shall not participate in deliberations conducted by members of the commission concerning a retention recommendation. I. Meetings of the commission. Except as provided in these rules, commission meetings shall be open to the public. The commission shall conduct its business in executive session which shall be closed to the public when the commission is conducting interviews or when the commission is discussing privileged matters; survey responses; comments to questionnaires; sensitive, personal information; draft narrative profiles; responses to draft narrative profiles or other confidential information. J. Reports. The commission shall report to the Supreme Court as directed on its activities and recommendations.