House
Study
Bill
631
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
JUDICIARY
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
HOLT)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
the
collection
and
publication
of
judicial
1
officer
performance
information.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
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_____
Section
1.
NEW
SECTION
.
602.1219
Judicial
officer
1
performance
information.
2
1.
Each
year,
the
state
court
administrator
shall
collect
3
and
publish
information
related
to
each
district
court
judge
4
including
district
associate
judges,
full-time
associate
5
juvenile
judges,
and
full-time
associate
probate
judges.
The
6
information
must
include
but
is
not
limited
to
all
of
the
7
following:
8
a.
Pretrial
discretion.
9
(1)
The
percentage
of
cases
in
which
the
judge
set
a
bond
10
amount
lower
than
the
bond
schedule
promulgated
pursuant
to
11
section
804.21,
subsection
5.
12
(2)
The
frequency
with
which
a
person
is
released
on
13
the
person’s
own
recognizance
by
the
judge
when
the
person
14
is
arrested
for
a
violent
offense
compared
to
a
nonviolent
15
offense.
16
b.
Sentencing
outcomes.
17
(1)
The
frequency
with
which
the
judge’s
final
sentence
is
18
lower
than
the
statutory
recommendation
or
the
prosecutor’s
19
recommendation.
20
(2)
The
number
of
times
the
judge
grants
a
deferred
21
judgment,
deferred
sentence,
or
suspended
sentence.
22
c.
Appellate
review.
The
number
of
times
the
judge’s
23
rulings
are
reversed
by
the
court
of
appeals
or
the
supreme
24
court
due
to
abuse
of
discretion
or
error
of
law.
25
d.
Courtroom
efficiency.
26
(1)
The
average
time
from
the
filing
of
a
motion
or
27
submission
of
a
case
for
ruling
to
the
judge’s
final
ruling
on
28
the
motion
or
case.
29
(2)
The
number
of
cases
the
judge
has
disposed
of
compared
30
to
the
number
of
outstanding
cases
remain
on
the
judge’s
31
docket.
32
2.
The
judicial
branch
shall
create
and
maintain
an
internet
33
site
that
includes
all
of
the
following
features:
34
a.
A
search-by-county
and
search-by-name
interface.
35
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b.
Each
judge’s
performance
information
required
under
1
subsection
1
along
with
the
average
performance
statistics
for
2
each
judicial
district.
3
c.
A
space
where
each
judge
may
provide
a
personal
statement
4
of
no
more
than
five
hundred
words
explaining
the
judge’s
5
judicial
philosophy
or
addressing
specific
data
trends.
6
EXPLANATION
7
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
8
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
9
This
bill
relates
to
the
collection
and
publication
of
10
judicial
officer
performance
information.
11
The
bill
requires
the
state
court
administrator
to
annually
12
collect
and
publish
performance
information
for
district
court
13
judges.
The
performance
information
must
include
information
14
relating
to
pretrial
discretion,
sentencing
outcomes,
appellate
15
review,
and
courtroom
efficiency.
The
judicial
branch
must
16
create
and
maintain
an
internet
site
that
includes
a
county
17
and
name
search
interface,
performance
information,
average
18
performance
statistics
for
each
judicial
district,
and
a
space
19
for
each
judge’s
personal
statement.
20
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