SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 6
(By Senators Yoder, Caruth, Guills, Barnes, Boley and Sypolt)
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[Introduced January 11, 2008; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of West
Virginia, amending sections two and five, article VIII
thereof, relating to providing for the merit selection of
Justices of the Supreme Court of Appeals and circuit court
judges; numbering and designating such proposed amendment; and
providing a summarized statement of the purpose of such
proposed amendment.
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia, two thirds of
the members elected to each house agreeing thereto:
That the question of ratification or rejection of an amendment
to the Constitution of the State of West Virginia be submitted to
the voters of the state at the next general election to be held in
the year two thousand eight, which proposed amendment is that
sections two and five, article VIII thereof, be amended to read as
follows:
ARTICLE VIII.
§2. Supreme Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court of Appeals shall consist of five justices.
A majority of the justices of the court shall constitute a quorum
for the transaction of business.
The justices shall be elected by the voters of the state
selected on the basis of merit for a term of twelve years, unless
sooner removed or retired as authorized in this article. The
Legislature may shall prescribe by law whether the election of such
justices is to be on a partisan or nonpartisan basis the method and
criteria to be employed to assure that persons selected are of the
highest integrity and outstanding legal acumen.
Provision shall be made by rules of the Supreme Court of
Appeals for the selection of a member of the court to serve as
Chief Justice thereof. If the Chief Justice is temporarily
disqualified or unable to serve, one of the justices of the court
designated in accordance with the rules of the court shall serve
temporarily in his or her stead.
When any justice is temporarily disqualified or unable to
serve, the Chief Justice may assign a judge of a circuit court or
of an intermediate appellate court to serve from time to time in
his or her
stead.
§5. Circuit courts.
The judge or judges of each circuit court shall be elected by
the voters of selected on the basis of merit and shall reside in
the circuit in which they preside for a term of eight years, unless sooner removed or retired as authorized in this article. The
Legislature may shall prescribe by law whether the election of such
judges is to be on a partisan or nonpartisan basis the method and
criteria to be employed to assure that persons selected are of the
highest integrity and outstanding legal acumen.
Upon the effective
date of this article, each statutory court of record of limited
jurisdiction existing in the state immediately prior to such
effective date shall become part of the circuit court for the
circuit in which it presently exists, and each such judge of such
statutory court of record of limited jurisdiction shall thereupon
become a judge of such circuit court. During his or her
continuance in office, a judge of a circuit court shall reside in
the circuit of which he or she
is a judge.
The Legislature may increase, or other than during term of
office decrease, the number of circuit judges within any circuit.
The judicial circuits in existence on the effective date of this
article shall remain as so constituted until changed by law, and
the Legislature, at any session thereof held in the odd-numbered
year next preceding the time for the full-term election appointment
or reappointment of the judges thereof, may rearrange the circuits
and may increase or diminish the number of circuits. A judge of a
circuit court in office at the time of any such change shall
continue as a judge of the circuit in which he or she
shall
continue to reside after such change until his
or her
term shall expire, unless sooner removed or retired as authorized in this
article.
There shall be at least one judge for each circuit court and
as many more as may be necessary to transact the business of such
court. If there be two or more judges of a circuit court,
provision shall be made by rules of such circuit court for the
selection of one of such judges to serve as chief judge thereof of
the circuit. If the chief judge is temporarily disqualified or
unable to serve, one of the judges of the circuit court designated
in accordance with the rules of such court shall serve temporarily
in his or her stead.
The Supreme Court of Appeals shall provide for dividing the
business of those circuits in which there shall be more than one
judge between the judges thereof of the circuit so as to promote
and secure the convenient and expeditious transaction of such
business.
In every county in the state the circuit court for such county
shall sit at least three times in each year. The Supreme Court of
Appeals shall designate the times at which each circuit court shall
sit, but until this action is taken by the Supreme Court of
Appeals, each circuit court shall sit at the times prescribed by
law. If there be two or more judges of a circuit court, such
judges may hold court in the same county or in different counties
within the circuit at the same time or at different times.
Resolved further, That in accordance with the provisions of
article eleven, chapter three of the Code of West Virginia, 1931,
as amended, such proposed amendment is hereby numbered "Amendment
No. 1" and designated as the "Merit Selection of Justices and
Judges Amendment" and the purpose of the proposed amendment is
summarized as follows: "To provide for the selection of justices
and judges on our state judiciary on the basis of merit."
NOTE: The purpose of this resolution is to provide that
Justices of the Supreme Court and circuit court judges are
appointed based on merit.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present Constitution, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.