Amends TCA Title 17, Chapter 5.
ON APRIL 22, 2019, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 513, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill and revises present law provisions governing the board of judicial conduct, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) This amendment extends the board to June 30, 2021. Currently, the board is in wind-down and scheduled to terminate June 30, 2019.<br /> <br /> (2) This amendment revises the membership of the board and reconstitutes the board effective July 1, 2019, as described below:<br /> (A) Under present law, there are three current or former trial judges, one from each grand division, appointed by the Tennessee judicial conference. This amendment reduces the number of such appointments from three to one and does not specify an area of the state from which the appointment must be made; <br /> (B) Under present law, there are three current or former general sessions court judges, one from each grand division, appointed by the Tennessee general sessions judges conference. This amendment reduces the number of such appointments from three to two and does not specify an area of the state from which the appointment must be made;<br /> (C) Under present law there is one current or former municipal court judge, appointed by the Tennessee municipal judges conference; this remains the same under this amendment;<br /> (D) Under present law, there is one current or former juvenile court judge, appointed by the Tennessee council of juvenile and family court judges; this remains unchanged by this amendment;<br /> (E) Under present law, there are two current or former court of appeals or court of criminal appeals judges, with one appointed by the speaker of the house and one appointed by the speaker of the senate, from a list of six recommended by the Tennessee judicial conference. This amendment revises this to instead provide for one current or former court of appeals or court of criminal appeals judge, to be appointed by the Tennessee judicial conference;<br /> (F) Under present law, there are two members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom is an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and may be a member of the district attorneys general conference or a member of the district public defenders conference, and one who is neither a judge nor an attorney, who is appointed by the speaker of the senate. Also, there are two members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom is an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and may be a member of the district attorneys general conference or a member of the district public defenders conference, and one who is neither a judge nor an attorney, who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. There are also two members of the public who are not salaried judges, one who is an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and may be a member of the district attorneys general conference or a member of the district public defenders conference, and one who is neither a judge nor an attorney, who is appointed by the governor.<br /> <br /> This amendment revises (F) to instead provide for five members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom must be an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and four of whom must be neither a judge or an attorney, all to be appointed by the speaker of the senate; and five members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom must be an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and four of whom must be neither a judge or an attorney, all to be appointed by the speaker of the house.<br /> <br /> (3) This amendment requires that the chair of the board be a current or former judge. This amendment sets out a schedule of initial, staggered terms, after which the terms of board members will be three years (same as under present law). This amendment clarifies that an appointment made to fill a vacancy is effective only for the duration of the unexpired term. Present law requires the appointing authorities, in making their appointments, to do so with a conscious intention of selecting a board that reflects a diverse mixture with respect to race, including the dominant ethnic minority population, and gender. This amendment revises this requirement to instead require the appointing authorities, in making their appointments, to strive to ensure the makeup of the board reflects the diversity of persons in Tennessee.<br /> <br /> (4) Under present law, the board chair divides the board into hearing panels of six members and investigative panels of three members. Present law sets out in detail the required membership of the panels. This amendment revises those provisions. Under this amendment, the chair will divide the board into investigative panels of three members and hearing panels of five members. Each investigative panel will be composed of two public members and one member who is a current or former judge. The chair will not serve as a permanent member of an investigative panel or a hearing panel but may serve as a member of a panel on a temporary basis to fill a vacancy. Under this amendment, the investigative panel must require a full investigation where the motion to dismiss the complaint fails to receive a unanimous vote from the panel and where the motion to authorize the full investigation passes by a majority vote of the panel.<br /> <br /> (5) Under this amendment, a current or former judge who serves on the board and is the subject of a full investigation by the board or is a party to a hearing before the board must take a temporary leave of absence from the board pending the completion of such action. A citizen member of the board must recuse himself or herself to avoid any impropriety, appearance of impropriety, or conflict of interest relating to the person's duties as a board member and matters that may come before the board. A current or former judge whose conduct results in the board taking disciplinary action against the judge will result in the judge's automatic dismissal from the board, creating a vacancy to be filled by the appropriate appointing authority. If a member recuses himself or herself or is dismissed, then all board matters may be heard by the remaining members of the board or, at the option of the members, a temporary replacement may be designated from the board by a majority vote of such members to sit on any investigative or hearing panel the recused or dismissed member was on.<br /> <br /> (6) This amendment adds that the general assembly will have limited access to board records. Under this amendment, the speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives will each appoint two members of the majority party and one member of the minority party from each house who may request access to investigative reports and any other record compiled by the board. The appointed members will meet annually with the chair of the board and the investigative counsel to review all decisions relating to complaints for which formal charges have been filed based on the recommendation of an investigative panel. Any information obtained by or disclosed to a member of the general assembly pursuant to a request for records under this amendment will be confidential and not a public record.<br /> <br /> (7) The present law provisions governing the procedures of the board provides that disciplinary counsel must evaluate all information coming to the counsel's attention by complaint, upon the request of any member of the board or from any other credible source that alleges judicial misconduct or incapacity. This amendment adds that such evaluation must commence within 30 days of the date the complaint was filed. Also, under present law, the investigative panel must review the disciplinary counsel's recommendations and either dismiss the complaint or authorize a full investigation. This amendment specifies that this provision is subject to the present law requirements whereby the investigative panel has the duty and authority to review the recommendations of disciplinary counsel after a full investigation and approve, disapprove or modify the recommendations.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 24, 2019, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 513 FOR SENATE BILL 452, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 513, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 makes various changes and additions to the provisions of this bill described in the Summary for House Amendment #1 and to present law governing the board of judicial conduct, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) This amendment makes various changes to the manner in which the board will be reconstituted, as described below:<br /> (A) The current or former judge will be appointed by the trial judges association instead of the judicial conference; <br /> (B) This amendment revises the memberships described in (1)(F) of the Summary for House Amendment #1 to instead provide for four members, including three who are neither a judge nor an attorney and one who is a current or former judge, to be appointed by the speaker of the senate; four members, including three who are neither a judge nor an attorney and one who is a current or former judge, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and two members who are attorneys licensed to practice law in this state, to be appointed by the governor; and<br /> (C) The remaining memberships will be appointed as described in the Summary for House Amendment #1.<br /> <br /> (2) This amendment requires that the vice chair be a non-judicial member.<br /> <br /> (3) This amendment revises the provisions for investigative and hearing panels, as described in (4) of the Summary for House Amendment #1. Under this amendment, the chair will divide the board into five investigative panels of three members each, with each investigative panel to be composed of at least one member who is a current or former judge; and three hearing panels of five members each, with two hearing panels to each be composed of three non-judicial members and two members who are current or former judges, and one hearing panel to be composed of two non-judicial members and three members who are current or former judges. This amendment retains the provision of House Amendment #1 that specifies the chair will not serve as a permanent member of an investigative panel or a hearing panel but may serve as a member of a panel on a temporary basis to fill a vacancy. Also, this amendment retains the requirement of House Amendment #1 that the investigative panel must require a full investigation where the motion to dismiss the complaint fails to receive a unanimous vote from the panel and where the motion to authorize the full investigation passes by a majority vote of the panel.<br /> <br /> (4) This amendment specifies that a vacancy, which is caused by the absence of a current or former judge who serves on the board due to being the subject of a full investigation by the board or a party to a hearing before the board, will be filled for the duration of the leave of absence only. <br /> <br /> (5) Under present law, the criteria to be considered by the board or the investigatory panel in determining the sanction or combination of sanctions appropriate for the level of culpability involved in the judge's misconduct include "the judge's length of service on the bench". This amendment deletes this criterion and adds the criterion of "the level of sanction, if any, previously rendered against other judges for the same conduct." Also, this amendment specifies that the legal analysis, findings of fact, and conclusions of law of a written opinion or order by the judge do not subject the judge to sanction.<br /> <br /> (6) This amendment revises some of the provisions governing the board's procedures, as described in (7) of the Summary for House Amendment #1. This amendment requires that disciplinary counsel's evaluation of information coming to the counsel's attention by complaint, upon the request of any member of the board or from any other credible source that alleges judicial misconduct or incapacity, must commence within 30 days of the date of a request being submitted or a written complaint being filed. This amendment also adds that an investigative panel has 30 days to act on the disciplinary counsel's recommendation, and that a complaint must be dismissed if the investigative panel fails to act within the time prescribed. <br /> <br /> (7) Under present law, within 30 days after the investigative panel authorizing a full investigation, disciplinary counsel must give certain notice to the judge. This amendment adds that disciplinary counsel must also provide the judge with a copy of the complaint or complaints within this time period. This amendment deletes the present law provision whereby the investigative panel may defer the giving of notice. This amendment requires that the full investigation be completed with 75 days of being authorized.<br /> <br /> (8) This amendment adds that the judge has the right to engage in discovery and that a judge has 30 days from and after the receipt of written notice of the formal charge within which to file discovery requests. This amendment also adds that no costs related to a hearing or the disciplinary counsel's attorney fees resulting from such hearing may be taxed against the judge unless the sanction assessed requests removal from office. This amendment also provides that the board must issue a decision to dismiss charges or impose a sanction, and issue findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 60 days of the conclusion of the hearing.<br /> <br /> (9) This amendment changes this bill's effective date from upon becoming a law for all purposes to upon becoming a law for purposes of vacating and reconstituting the board and July 1, 2019, for all other purposes.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 29, 2019, THE HOUSE NON-CONCURRED IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1. <br /> <br /> ON APRIL 29, 2019, THE SENATE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS ACTION IN ADOPTING SENATE AMENDMENT #1.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 30, 2019, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE FROM ITS NON-CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1 AND APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. <br /> <br /> ON APRIL 30, 2019, THE SENATE APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.<br /> <br /> ON MAY 2, 2019, THE HOUSE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE HOUSE.<br /> <br /> ON MAY 2, 2019, THE SENATE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE SENATE.<br /> <br />
ON APRIL 22, 2019, THE HOUSE ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1 AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 513, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 rewrites this bill and revises present law provisions governing the board of judicial conduct, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) This amendment extends the board to June 30, 2021. Currently, the board is in wind-down and scheduled to terminate June 30, 2019.<br /> <br /> (2) This amendment revises the membership of the board and reconstitutes the board effective July 1, 2019, as described below:<br /> (A) Under present law, there are three current or former trial judges, one from each grand division, appointed by the Tennessee judicial conference. This amendment reduces the number of such appointments from three to one and does not specify an area of the state from which the appointment must be made; <br /> (B) Under present law, there are three current or former general sessions court judges, one from each grand division, appointed by the Tennessee general sessions judges conference. This amendment reduces the number of such appointments from three to two and does not specify an area of the state from which the appointment must be made;<br /> (C) Under present law there is one current or former municipal court judge, appointed by the Tennessee municipal judges conference; this remains the same under this amendment;<br /> (D) Under present law, there is one current or former juvenile court judge, appointed by the Tennessee council of juvenile and family court judges; this remains unchanged by this amendment;<br /> (E) Under present law, there are two current or former court of appeals or court of criminal appeals judges, with one appointed by the speaker of the house and one appointed by the speaker of the senate, from a list of six recommended by the Tennessee judicial conference. This amendment revises this to instead provide for one current or former court of appeals or court of criminal appeals judge, to be appointed by the Tennessee judicial conference;<br /> (F) Under present law, there are two members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom is an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and may be a member of the district attorneys general conference or a member of the district public defenders conference, and one who is neither a judge nor an attorney, who is appointed by the speaker of the senate. Also, there are two members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom is an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and may be a member of the district attorneys general conference or a member of the district public defenders conference, and one who is neither a judge nor an attorney, who is appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives. There are also two members of the public who are not salaried judges, one who is an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and may be a member of the district attorneys general conference or a member of the district public defenders conference, and one who is neither a judge nor an attorney, who is appointed by the governor.<br /> <br /> This amendment revises (F) to instead provide for five members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom must be an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and four of whom must be neither a judge or an attorney, all to be appointed by the speaker of the senate; and five members of the public who are not salaried judges, one of whom must be an attorney who regularly practices in the courts of this state and four of whom must be neither a judge or an attorney, all to be appointed by the speaker of the house.<br /> <br /> (3) This amendment requires that the chair of the board be a current or former judge. This amendment sets out a schedule of initial, staggered terms, after which the terms of board members will be three years (same as under present law). This amendment clarifies that an appointment made to fill a vacancy is effective only for the duration of the unexpired term. Present law requires the appointing authorities, in making their appointments, to do so with a conscious intention of selecting a board that reflects a diverse mixture with respect to race, including the dominant ethnic minority population, and gender. This amendment revises this requirement to instead require the appointing authorities, in making their appointments, to strive to ensure the makeup of the board reflects the diversity of persons in Tennessee.<br /> <br /> (4) Under present law, the board chair divides the board into hearing panels of six members and investigative panels of three members. Present law sets out in detail the required membership of the panels. This amendment revises those provisions. Under this amendment, the chair will divide the board into investigative panels of three members and hearing panels of five members. Each investigative panel will be composed of two public members and one member who is a current or former judge. The chair will not serve as a permanent member of an investigative panel or a hearing panel but may serve as a member of a panel on a temporary basis to fill a vacancy. Under this amendment, the investigative panel must require a full investigation where the motion to dismiss the complaint fails to receive a unanimous vote from the panel and where the motion to authorize the full investigation passes by a majority vote of the panel.<br /> <br /> (5) Under this amendment, a current or former judge who serves on the board and is the subject of a full investigation by the board or is a party to a hearing before the board must take a temporary leave of absence from the board pending the completion of such action. A citizen member of the board must recuse himself or herself to avoid any impropriety, appearance of impropriety, or conflict of interest relating to the person's duties as a board member and matters that may come before the board. A current or former judge whose conduct results in the board taking disciplinary action against the judge will result in the judge's automatic dismissal from the board, creating a vacancy to be filled by the appropriate appointing authority. If a member recuses himself or herself or is dismissed, then all board matters may be heard by the remaining members of the board or, at the option of the members, a temporary replacement may be designated from the board by a majority vote of such members to sit on any investigative or hearing panel the recused or dismissed member was on.<br /> <br /> (6) This amendment adds that the general assembly will have limited access to board records. Under this amendment, the speaker of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives will each appoint two members of the majority party and one member of the minority party from each house who may request access to investigative reports and any other record compiled by the board. The appointed members will meet annually with the chair of the board and the investigative counsel to review all decisions relating to complaints for which formal charges have been filed based on the recommendation of an investigative panel. Any information obtained by or disclosed to a member of the general assembly pursuant to a request for records under this amendment will be confidential and not a public record.<br /> <br /> (7) The present law provisions governing the procedures of the board provides that disciplinary counsel must evaluate all information coming to the counsel's attention by complaint, upon the request of any member of the board or from any other credible source that alleges judicial misconduct or incapacity. This amendment adds that such evaluation must commence within 30 days of the date the complaint was filed. Also, under present law, the investigative panel must review the disciplinary counsel's recommendations and either dismiss the complaint or authorize a full investigation. This amendment specifies that this provision is subject to the present law requirements whereby the investigative panel has the duty and authority to review the recommendations of disciplinary counsel after a full investigation and approve, disapprove or modify the recommendations.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 24, 2019, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 513 FOR SENATE BILL 452, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 513, AS AMENDED.<br /> <br /> AMENDMENT #1 makes various changes and additions to the provisions of this bill described in the Summary for House Amendment #1 and to present law governing the board of judicial conduct, as follows:<br /> <br /> (1) This amendment makes various changes to the manner in which the board will be reconstituted, as described below:<br /> (A) The current or former judge will be appointed by the trial judges association instead of the judicial conference; <br /> (B) This amendment revises the memberships described in (1)(F) of the Summary for House Amendment #1 to instead provide for four members, including three who are neither a judge nor an attorney and one who is a current or former judge, to be appointed by the speaker of the senate; four members, including three who are neither a judge nor an attorney and one who is a current or former judge, to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives; and two members who are attorneys licensed to practice law in this state, to be appointed by the governor; and<br /> (C) The remaining memberships will be appointed as described in the Summary for House Amendment #1.<br /> <br /> (2) This amendment requires that the vice chair be a non-judicial member.<br /> <br /> (3) This amendment revises the provisions for investigative and hearing panels, as described in (4) of the Summary for House Amendment #1. Under this amendment, the chair will divide the board into five investigative panels of three members each, with each investigative panel to be composed of at least one member who is a current or former judge; and three hearing panels of five members each, with two hearing panels to each be composed of three non-judicial members and two members who are current or former judges, and one hearing panel to be composed of two non-judicial members and three members who are current or former judges. This amendment retains the provision of House Amendment #1 that specifies the chair will not serve as a permanent member of an investigative panel or a hearing panel but may serve as a member of a panel on a temporary basis to fill a vacancy. Also, this amendment retains the requirement of House Amendment #1 that the investigative panel must require a full investigation where the motion to dismiss the complaint fails to receive a unanimous vote from the panel and where the motion to authorize the full investigation passes by a majority vote of the panel.<br /> <br /> (4) This amendment specifies that a vacancy, which is caused by the absence of a current or former judge who serves on the board due to being the subject of a full investigation by the board or a party to a hearing before the board, will be filled for the duration of the leave of absence only. <br /> <br /> (5) Under present law, the criteria to be considered by the board or the investigatory panel in determining the sanction or combination of sanctions appropriate for the level of culpability involved in the judge's misconduct include "the judge's length of service on the bench". This amendment deletes this criterion and adds the criterion of "the level of sanction, if any, previously rendered against other judges for the same conduct." Also, this amendment specifies that the legal analysis, findings of fact, and conclusions of law of a written opinion or order by the judge do not subject the judge to sanction.<br /> <br /> (6) This amendment revises some of the provisions governing the board's procedures, as described in (7) of the Summary for House Amendment #1. This amendment requires that disciplinary counsel's evaluation of information coming to the counsel's attention by complaint, upon the request of any member of the board or from any other credible source that alleges judicial misconduct or incapacity, must commence within 30 days of the date of a request being submitted or a written complaint being filed. This amendment also adds that an investigative panel has 30 days to act on the disciplinary counsel's recommendation, and that a complaint must be dismissed if the investigative panel fails to act within the time prescribed. <br /> <br /> (7) Under present law, within 30 days after the investigative panel authorizing a full investigation, disciplinary counsel must give certain notice to the judge. This amendment adds that disciplinary counsel must also provide the judge with a copy of the complaint or complaints within this time period. This amendment deletes the present law provision whereby the investigative panel may defer the giving of notice. This amendment requires that the full investigation be completed with 75 days of being authorized.<br /> <br /> (8) This amendment adds that the judge has the right to engage in discovery and that a judge has 30 days from and after the receipt of written notice of the formal charge within which to file discovery requests. This amendment also adds that no costs related to a hearing or the disciplinary counsel's attorney fees resulting from such hearing may be taxed against the judge unless the sanction assessed requests removal from office. This amendment also provides that the board must issue a decision to dismiss charges or impose a sanction, and issue findings of fact and conclusions of law, within 60 days of the conclusion of the hearing.<br /> <br /> (9) This amendment changes this bill's effective date from upon becoming a law for all purposes to upon becoming a law for purposes of vacating and reconstituting the board and July 1, 2019, for all other purposes.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 29, 2019, THE HOUSE NON-CONCURRED IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1. <br /> <br /> ON APRIL 29, 2019, THE SENATE REFUSED TO RECEDE IN ITS ACTION IN ADOPTING SENATE AMENDMENT #1.<br /> <br /> ON APRIL 30, 2019, THE HOUSE REFUSED TO RECEDE FROM ITS NON-CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENT #1 AND APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. <br /> <br /> ON APRIL 30, 2019, THE SENATE APPOINTED A CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.<br /> <br /> ON MAY 2, 2019, THE HOUSE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE HOUSE.<br /> <br /> ON MAY 2, 2019, THE SENATE ADOPTED THE CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT AND MADE IT THE ACTION OF THE SENATE.<br /> <br />
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