SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN |
FILED MAR
16, 2000 Cornelia
G. Clark Acting
Clerk of Supreme Court Madison,
WI |
|
In the Matter of the Amendment of the
Supreme Court Internal Operating
Procedures |
ORDER No. 00-03 |
|
The Supreme Court, on its own motion, has considered the advisability of amending its Internal Operating Procedures to provide for a committee independent of the court to assist the court in making appointments to various boards, committees, and other entities.
IT IS ORDERED that, effective the date of this order, Supreme Court Internal Operating Procedure IV is created to read:
IV. APPOINTMENT
PROCESS
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, pursuant to
statutory authority and the court's rules, regularly appoints lawyers and
nonlawyer members of the public to various boards, committees, and other
entities. In making those appointments,
it is the court's objective to maximize the participation of lawyers and the
public in the work of those entities.
To avoid the appearance of favoritism or patronage in the appointment
process, the court has created a committee independent of the court to assist
in the process. The Appointment
Selection Committee solicits and evaluates persons for appointment and
nominates for the court's consideration the persons it determines are best
qualified to serve. In evaluating the
qualifications of persons interested in appointment, the Appointment Selection
Committee applies the criteria established by the court for each of the
entities to which appointment is made.
In order to ensure the integrity of the
appointment process and avoid any perception that individual members of the
court are interested or involved in the selection of specific individuals to be
nominated by the Committee for appointment, the Appointment Selection Committee
itself is not appointed by the court but by persons - lawyers and members of
the public - designated not by name but by positions held in organizations
related to the bar and state government.
In this way, any perception that an individual member of the court is in
a position to exert influence over any member of the Appointment Selection
Committee or any of its decisions is obviated.
No member of the court participates in the appointment process until
after the Appointment Selection Committee has submitted nominations for
specific appointment.
In making appointments, the court's
objective is to provide quality and promote diversity on the boards, committees
and other entities. The appointment
procedure established by the court is designed to produce appointments based
solely on the qualities of integrity, intelligence, experience and commitment.
A. Appointment
Selection Committee
The
Appointment Selection Committee (Committee) consists of the following 12
persons:
One attorney from the Milwaukee metropolitan
area selected by the dean of the Marquette University Law School.
One attorney from outside the Milwaukee
metropolitan area selected by the dean of the University of Wisconsin Law
School.
The president of a county bar association
located within the Eastern District of Wisconsin chosen by the court by lot, or
his or her designee.
The president of a county bar association
located within the Western District of Wisconsin chosen by the court by lot, or
his or her designee.
The chair of the Family Law Section of the
State Bar of Wisconsin, or his or her designee.
The chair of the General Practice Section of
the State Bar of Wisconsin, or his or her designee.
The president of the Government Lawyers
Division of the State Bar of Wisconsin, or his or her designee.
One former member of the Board of Attorneys
Professional Responsibility or the Board of Bar Examiners who has not served
within the preceding five years, chosen by the court by lot.
The chair of one of the district professional
responsibility committees provided in SCR 21.08, chosen by the court by lot.
One nonlawyer member of the public designated
by the Senate Co-Chair of the Legislative Council.
One nonlawyer member of the public designated
by the Assembly Co-Chair of the Legislative Council.
One nonlawyer member of the public designated
by the chair of the State Ethics Board.
To
be eligible to serve on the Appointment Selection Committee, a lawyer must have
practiced law for more than five years.
The
term of a member is three years; the terms of the initial members are staggered
by the court by lot to provide for the expiration of four members' terms each
year.
Vacancies
on the Appointment Selection Committee are filled by the persons identified
above, respectively. Where the person
is specified to be chosen by lot, a person is chosen by lot each time there is
a vacancy in that position.
The
Committee selects its chair at the first meeting of each calendar year. Staff support is provided to the Committee
by a Supreme Court commissioner.
B. Meetings
The
Committee meets at such times as considered necessary by its chair. The meetings are held at locations
throughout the state so as to enable the greatest number of members to
participate.
C. Nomination Procedure
1. Notice
of Vacancy. Each
board, committee and other entity to which the Supreme Court makes appointment
of lawyers and nonlawyer members of the public notifies the clerk of the court
as soon as practicable of appointments that need to be made. The clerk of the court notifies the
Committee chair of those appointments.
2. Information
to and Solicitation of Interested Persons. In addition to
the information disseminated by the court regarding the appointment of lawyers
and nonlawyer members of the public, the Committee publicizes the appointments
to be made by such means as, in the Committee's discretion, will provide notice
to the greatest number of persons likely to be interested in being
appointed. To the extent it deems
necessary, the Committee conducts in person information and solicitation
sessions at locations throughout the state likely to produce qualified persons
interested in being appointed.
3. Resumes;
Interviews. The Committee invites persons interested in being
appointed to submit a written resume of their qualifications. The Committee may personally interview those
persons whose resumes demonstrate qualifications that appear to warrant a
personal, confidential interview before the full Committee or any number of its
members the Committee may designate.
4. Nomination. Not
less than 30 days prior to the expiration of a term or other applicable date
that requires an appointment by the Supreme Court, the Committee submits to the
Supreme Court the names of the persons, not less than two, it nominates for
appointment. If more than one position
on a particular board, committee or other entity is to be filled by appointment
at the same time, the Committee, in its discretion, may submit the number of
names it considers appropriate for appointment to the positions generally or in
respect to each position separately.
Together with the nominations, the Committee submits to the court the
resumes and other material it has considered regarding the persons nominated. The court may ask the Committee to submit
additional nominations.
5. Reappointment. When
a member of a board, committee or other entity is eligible for reappointment to
a successive term, the Committee ascertains whether the member regularly
attended meetings of the board, committee or other entity, made significant contribution
to its work, and is willing to accept reappointment. If the member's participation has been satisfactory and the
member is willing to accept reappointment, and the Committee nominates the
member for reappointment to a successive term, it is unnecessary for the
Committee to nominate other persons for appointment to the position. If the member's participation has been
unsatisfactory or the member is not willing to accept reappointment, the
Committee proceeds as in the case of an appointment.
6. Criteria. In
determining the qualifications of persons for appointment, the Committee
applies the criteria for the specific position established by the court from
time to time and provided to the Committee in writing. The Committee may, with the approval of the
court, apply additional specific criteria.
D. Reimbursement
Members
of the Committee are reimbursed for travel, lodging and related expenses
reasonably incurred in carrying out their duties.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that notice of this
amendment of the Supreme Court Internal Operating Procedures be given a single
publication of a copy of this order in the official state newspaper and in an
official publication of the State Bar of Wisconsin.
Dated at Madison, Wisconsin, this 16th day of March, 2000.
BY THE COURT:
Cornelia G. Clark
Acting Clerk of Supreme Court