Judicial nominating commissions updated

A proposal to update the eligibility and election procedures for attorney members of judicial nominating commissions passed April 25.

Nebraska Judicial Nominating Commissions assist in selecting judges by compiling a list for the governor of candidates to recommend for appointment.

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.

Under LB388, introduced by Bennington Sen. Wendy DeBoer, the NSBA will 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, the NSBA’s Executive Council may nominate additional candidates for the position by Nov. 1 of the same year.

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

Additionally, LB388 updates procedures for filling vacancies and clarifies that commission members must live in their district, may serve on multiple commissions and may serve on a commission for up to 12 years.

Finally, the bill increases from six to 10 years the length of time a person must wait before being reelected or reappointed to a commission.

LB388 passed on a 46-0 vote.