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Rule 4. Conference Teams

Arizona Revised Statutes AnnotatedRules of Procedure for Judicial Performance Review in the State of ArizonaEffective: January 1, 2020

Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated
Rules of Procedure for Judicial Performance Review in the State of Arizona (Refs & Annos)
Effective: January 1, 2020
17C A.R.S. Rules of Proc. for Jud. Perf. Review, Rule 4
Rule 4. Conference Teams
During each mid-term and retention election performance review period of a judge, the Commission shall arrange for a conference between each judge and a Conference Team. The purpose of this conference shall be to assist in identifying aspects of the judge's performance that may need improvement and to help the judge to develop plans for self-improvement. The activities and operations of the Conference Teams shall be governed by the following provisions:
(a) Composition. Each Conference Team shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the Commission or his or her designee and shall be composed of a member of the public, an attorney who is a member of the State Bar of Arizona, and a judge (active or retired). No more than one member of a Conference Team may be a member of the Commission.
(b) Organization. The Conference Team members shall organize themselves as meets their needs in order to conference with the judge(s) assigned to that team.
(c) Terms. A Conference Team may review more than one judge during any review period. Conference Team members shall be recruited to serve for each judicial review cycle and service will terminate at the end of the specific review cycle.
(d) Meetings. Meetings shall be at the call of the Conference Team All meetings shall be confidential. No meeting shall take place unless all three (3) members are present.
(e) Self-Evaluation Form. Prior to meeting with the Conference Team, each judge shall complete a self-evaluation form approved by the Commission reflecting his or her perception of his or her performance as to each judicial performance criterion. The completed self- evaluation form is confidential and plays no role in the evaluation/retention process. It shall be furnished only to the Conference Team before its meeting with the judge, and then to his or her Presiding Judge or Chief Judge, and to the Chief Justice, along with the self-improvement plan described in Paragraph (h) below.
(f) Peremptory Challenge. Each reviewed judge shall have the right to peremptorily challenge one member of the Conference Team. The peremptory challenge shall be filed with the office of the Commission within 5 days of actual notice to the judge of the members of the Conference Team. Where necessary, the Chairperson of the Commission shall rule upon any questions under this subparagraph.
(g) Conference Team Report. A written plan for self- improvement shall be developed at the conference and, after being put into final form, signed by the judge and the Conference Team members. In connection with development of the self-improvement plan, the judge and the Conference Team shall consider previous and current survey results and narrative comments, the previous self-improvement plan, and objective data which demonstrate completion of the previous plan. The self-improvement plan shall be distributed only to the judge being reviewed, to his or her presiding judge or chief judge, and to the Chief Justice. In addition, the self-improvement plan, with the name of the judge redacted, may be distributed to the Administrative Office of the Courts for use in development of judicial education programs. Neither the Conference Team Report nor the self-improvement plan shall be distributed to the Commission or used in the Commission's deliberations as to whether a judge “meets” or “does not meet” judicial performance standards.

Credits

Promulgated on an emergency basis effective May 26, 1993, adopted in final form July 8, 1993. Amended Feb. 27, 1996, effective Feb. 9, 1996; Jan. 26, 2004, effective June 1, 2004; Sept. 3, 2009, effective Jan. 1, 2010; amended on an emergency basis Aug. 27, 2019, effective Sept. 1, 2019, adopted on a permanent basis Dec. 12, 2019.
17C A. R. S. Rules of Proc. for Jud. Perf. Review, Rule 4, AZ ST J PERF REVIEW Rule 4
State Court Rules are current with amendments received and effective through March 15, 2023. The Code of Judicial Administration is current with amendments received through March 15, 2023.
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