LCMR 7. Commissioners

(a) Appointment. Court commissioners shall be appointed by the judges and serve at the pleasure of the judges.

(b) Recruitment. The judges may select a commissioner for a vacant position by transferring another commissioner to the vacant position, by appointing from the eligibility list or by conducting an open selection process. In the event that an open selection process is to be utilized, the Chief Administrative Officer shall advertise the vacancy in state and local bar publications and accept applications from attorneys.

(c) Selection Committee. There shall be a special committee appointed by the Presiding Judge vested with the responsibility for conducting investigations and interviews as it deems appropriate. Any judge or commissioner may attend and participate, and any judge may attend, participate and vote as a member of the Selection Committee in this selection process, so long as this judge has attended all meetings and interviews.  The Selection Committee may submit a list of names of applicants to the screening committees of the various bar associations for evaluations to be completed within 45 days.  The Selection Committee shall make a report and recommendation to the Executive Committee, which shall make a recommendation to the judges.

(d) Final Selection. The selection of a commissioner shall be made by a majority vote of the judges meeting in executive session. Upon receiving a recommendation from the Selection Committee and the Executive Committee, the judges by a majority vote may transfer a commissioner to a vacant court commissioner's position without considering other candidates.

(e) Eligibility List. After the selection of a commissioner pursuant to the procedure established above, there shall be an "eligibility list" maintained for three years by the Chief Administrative Officer. The list shall contain the names and all related information of applicants considered in accordance with the above-described procedure. If the court needs to appoint another commissioner during the three-year period that the list is maintained, the judges, upon receiving a recommendation from the Selection Committee and Executive Committee, may appoint someone from that list. The court may also supplement this eligibility list, at any time, through an open recruitment process, in the absence of a specific Commissioner position vacancy.

(f) Performance Review. Performance reviews shall be conducted by the Personnel Committee in consultation with the relevant standing committee. The conclusions of the review shall be provided to the members of the Executive Committee and to the commissioner.

(g) Retirement. Commissioners shall retire at the same age at which state law requires judges to retire.

(h) Disciplinary Process. The Presiding Judge and the Executive Committee shall determine whether disciplinary action, short of termination, is appropriate. A commissioner may not be terminated without the consent of the judges as a whole.

(i) Annual Report. Commissioners shall file an annual report with the Presiding Judge by April 15 of each year in a format specified by the Executive Committee. The reports may be reviewed by the Commissioner Performance Review Committee as necessary.

[Adopted effective September 1, 2016.]