Judicial nominating commission updates advanced

A proposal to update the eligibility and election procedures for attorney members of judicial nominating commissions received first-round approval from lawmakers April 3.

Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commissions assist in selecting judges by compiling a list of candidates to recommend for appointment to the governor. Each district of the Nebraska Supreme Court along with the Court of Appeals, District Courts and other courts of limited jurisdiction — has its own commission, including a separate commission for selecting the chief justice.

Each commission consists of nine members: four non-lawyers appointed by the governor, four attorneys elected by Nebraska State Bar Association members and a chairperson who is either the Chief Justice of the Nebraska Supreme Court or another state Supreme Court judge. No more than two members from the same political party are allowed as part of each group.

Under LB388, introduced by Bennington Sen. Wendy DeBoer, the NSBA would have additional time to nominate attorneys for the commissions, extending the deadline to submit nominations from Sept. 1 to Oct. 1 of even-numbered years. If nominations are insufficient after Oct. 1 of an even-numbered year, the NSBA’s Executive Council could nominate additional candidates for the position by Nov. 1 of the same year.

The measure also would allow elections to be conducted electronically instead of by mail and extend the deadline from 14 days to 30 for returning ballots to the Clerk of the Supreme Court, which distributes ballots to NSBA members.

Additionally, LB388 would update processes for filling vacancies and clarify that commission members must live in their district, may serve on multiple commissions and may serve on a commission for up to 12 years.

The bill also would increase from six years to 10 the time a person must wait before being reelected or reappointed to a commission.

Changes outlined in LB388 would provide the NSBA additional time to find candidates, DeBoer said, and help create a more diverse pool of candidates.

“This update to our judicial nominating commission statutes is necessary and, frankly, overdue,” DeBoer said. “I believe the changes in LB388 will help the operations of these commissions for years to come.”

The bill advanced to select file on a vote of 39-0.