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Committee presses staff for transparency on judicial appointment panels
Summary
Committee members expressed concern about a proposed change that would send judicial appointments directly to City Council rather than through the prior ad hoc municipal court advisory process and asked staff to formalize how selection panels are composed and disclosed.
The committee sought clarification of a staff proposal to move judicial-appointment recommendations directly to City Council rather than processing them through the prior ad hoc municipal court advisory committee. Several committee members raised transparency concerns: Chairman Crane and others asked what “broad representation” on selection panels would mean if the public-facing step at the committee level were removed.
William Rumley told members the chief-judge appointment process would continue to use a panel and that the panel composition would be disclosed when a recommendation is brought forward. "So whenever we bring a recommendation, you'll see in a minute on the next for the appointments, we always, let you know who the panel members are," Rumley said, and he offered to return with a recommendation on formalizing panel composition to increase transparency. The committee asked staff to produce clearer parameters for how panels are selected and who sits on them before council action.
