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490A.02 JUDICIAL STANDARDS BOARD; POWERS.
    Subdivision 1. Judicial disqualification. A judge is disqualified from acting as a judge,
without a loss of salary, while there is pending an indictment or any information charging the
judge with a crime that is punishable as a felony under either Minnesota law or federal law,
or while there is pending a recommendation to the Supreme Court by the Board on Judicial
Standards for the judge's removal or retirement.
    Subd. 2. Judicial suspension. On receipt of a recommendation of the Board on Judicial
Standards or on its own motion, the Supreme Court may suspend a judge from office without
salary when the judge pleads guilty to or no contest to or is found guilty of a crime that is
punishable as a felony under either Minnesota law or federal law or any other crime that involves
moral turpitude. If the conviction is reversed, the suspension terminates and the judge must be
paid a salary for the period of suspension. If the judge is suspended and the conviction becomes
final, the Supreme Court shall remove the judge from office.
    Subd. 3. Judicial disability. On receipt of a recommendation of the Board on Judicial
Standards, the Supreme Court may retire a judge for a disability that the court determines seriously
interferes with the performance of the judge's duties and is or is likely to become permanent, and
censure or remove a judge for an action or inaction that may constitute persistent failure to
perform the judge's duties, incompetence in performing the judge's duties, habitual intemperance,
or conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute.
    Subd. 4. Authority to reopen matters. The board is specifically empowered to reopen any
matter wherein any information or evidence was previously precluded by a statute of limitations
or by a previously existing provision of time limitation.
    Subd. 5. Retirement status. (a) A judge who is retired by the Supreme Court must be
considered to have retired voluntarily.
    (b) This section and section 490A.01 must not affect the right of a judge who is suspended,
retired, or removed hereunder from qualifying for any pension or other retirement benefits to
which the judge would otherwise be entitled by law to receive.
    Subd. 6. Eligibility for judicial office; practice law. A judge removed by the Supreme
Court is ineligible for any future service in a judicial office. The question of the right of a removed
judge to practice law in this state must be referred to the proper authority for review.
    Subd. 7. Supreme Court rules. The Supreme Court shall make rules to implement this
section.
History: 2006 c 271 art 11 s 45

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes