HSB 631 (LSB 6772YC (1) 91)

HOUSE FILE _____ 

BY  (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON HOLT)

A BILL FOR

An Act  relating to the collection and publication of judicial officer performance information.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  NEW SECTION.  602.1219  Judicial officer performance information.
   1.  Each year, the state court administrator shall collect and publish information related to each district court judge including district associate judges, full-time associate juvenile judges, and full-time associate probate judges. The information must include but is not limited to all of the following:
   a.  Pretrial discretion.
   (1)  The percentage of cases in which the judge set a bond amount lower than the bond schedule promulgated pursuant to section 804.21, subsection 5.
   (2)  The frequency with which a person is released on the person’s own recognizance by the judge when the person is arrested for a violent offense compared to a nonviolent offense.
   b.  Sentencing outcomes.
   (1)  The frequency with which the judge’s final sentence is lower than the statutory recommendation or the prosecutor’s recommendation.
   (2)  The number of times the judge grants a deferred judgment, deferred sentence, or suspended sentence.
   c.  Appellate review.  The number of times the judge’s rulings are reversed by the court of appeals or the supreme court due to abuse of discretion or error of law.
   d.  Courtroom efficiency.
   (1)  The average time from the filing of a motion or submission of a case for ruling to the judge’s final ruling on the motion or case.
   (2)  The number of cases the judge has disposed of compared to the number of outstanding cases remain on the judge’s docket.
   2.  The judicial branch shall create and maintain an internet site that includes all of the following features:
   a.  A search-by-county and search-by-name interface.
   b.  Each judge’s performance information required under subsection 1 along with the average performance statistics for each judicial district.
   c.  A space where each judge may provide a personal statement of no more than five hundred words explaining the judge’s judicial philosophy or addressing specific data trends.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the collection and publication of judicial officer performance information.
   The bill requires the state court administrator to annually collect and publish performance information for district court judges. The performance information must include information relating to pretrial discretion, sentencing outcomes, appellate review, and courtroom efficiency. The judicial branch must create and maintain an internet site that includes a county and name search interface, performance information, average performance statistics for each judicial district, and a space for each judge’s personal statement.