SF 1677

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to recall of members of the Supreme Court; 
  1.3             providing for consideration by disinterested judges of 
  1.4             petitions to recall members of the Supreme Court; 
  1.5             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 211C.05, 
  1.6             subdivisions 1, 3. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 211C.05, 
  1.9   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subdivision 1.  [ASSIGNMENT FOR HEARING.] Upon receiving a 
  1.11  proposed petition from the secretary of state, the clerk of the 
  1.12  appellate courts shall submit it immediately to the chief 
  1.13  justice of the Supreme Court, or, if the chief justice is the 
  1.14  subject of the proposed petition, to the most senior associate 
  1.15  justice of the Supreme Court who is not a subject of the 
  1.16  proposed petition.  If all the justices of the Supreme Court are 
  1.17  the subject of the proposed petition, the clerk shall submit it 
  1.18  to the chief judge of the Court of Appeals or, if the chief 
  1.19  judge is also the subject of the proposed petition, to the most 
  1.20  senior associate justice of the Court of Appeals who is not the 
  1.21  subject of the proposed petition.  If all the justices of the 
  1.22  Supreme Court and all the judges of the Court of Appeals are the 
  1.23  subject of the proposed petition, the clerk shall submit it to 
  1.24  the most senior judge of the district court who is not a subject 
  1.25  of the proposed petition.  The persons proposing the petition 
  1.26  shall provide to the reviewing judge any materials supporting 
  2.1   the petition.  The officer who is named in the proposed petition 
  2.2   may submit materials in opposition.  The justice, or a designee 
  2.3   if the justice has a conflict of interest or is unable to 
  2.4   conduct the review in a timely manner, shall review the proposed 
  2.5   petition to determine whether it alleges specific facts that, if 
  2.6   proven, would constitute grounds for recall of the officer under 
  2.7   the Minnesota Constitution, article VIII, section 6, and section 
  2.8   211C.02.  If it does not, the justice shall immediately issue an 
  2.9   order dismissing the petition and indicating the reason for 
  2.10  dismissal.  If the proposed petition does allege specific facts 
  2.11  that, if proven, would constitute grounds for recall, the 
  2.12  justice shall assign the case to a special master for a public 
  2.13  hearing.  The special master must be an active or retired 
  2.14  judge.  The justice shall complete the review under this section 
  2.15  and dismiss the proposed petition or assign the case for hearing 
  2.16  within ten days. 
  2.17     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 211C.05, 
  2.18  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  2.19     Subd. 3.  [SUPREME COURT; DECISION.] The Supreme Court 
  2.20  shall review the report of the special master and make a 
  2.21  decision on the petition within 20 days.  If a member of the 
  2.22  Supreme Court is the subject of the petition, the Supreme Court 
  2.23  must appoint a panel of not more than seven active or retired 
  2.24  judges who are not members of the Supreme Court and not the 
  2.25  subject of the petition to review the report and make the 
  2.26  decision for the court.  If the court decides that the standard 
  2.27  expressed in subdivision 2 has not been met, the court shall 
  2.28  dismiss the petition.  If the court decides that the standard 
  2.29  for decision expressed in subdivision 2 has been met, the court 
  2.30  shall prescribe, by order to the secretary of state, the 
  2.31  statement of the specific facts and grounds that must appear on 
  2.32  the petition for recall issued under section 211C.06.  If the 
  2.33  court dismisses a petition under this section because the 
  2.34  persons proposing the petition have acted in bad faith in 
  2.35  violation of section 211C.09, the court may assess the persons 
  2.36  proposing the petition for reasonable costs of conducting the 
  3.1   proceeding.  
  3.2      Sec. 3.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.3      This act is effective the day following final enactment.