Director: surveys to start Jan. 2027; commission plans to evaluate 35 midterm judges this cycle

Executive Director Jeremy Brown told the commission the evaluation workflow will begin in January 2027 with surveys distributed by the vendor and that the midterm evaluation cycle for this round will cover roughly 35 judges.

Brown said surveys will run for several months and the commission aims to begin evaluations around October so many judges can be reviewed by December; the retention cycle requires a statutory publication timeline: "that hard deadline is 45 days before the last day that they have to declare for candidacy... which puts it in that date... mid January," Brown said. The director said the commission can likely publish evaluations in the first part of February if work completes on schedule.

Brown summarized vendor arrangements (Market Decisions) and said the commission will prepare group‑specific questionnaires for attorneys, court staff and jurors; commissioners requested separate instrument sets for district court and Supreme Court appointees and asked staff to pare and circulate drafts a week before the next meeting. He also showed the new website address (jpecmt.gov) and confirmed initial language and agendas are posted there.