Rule 10.741. Duties and authority of the presiding judge

(a) General duties The presiding judge is responsible for the recruitment, selection, training, appointment, supervision, assignment, performance, and evaluation of court-appointed temporary judges. In carrying out these responsibilities, the presiding judge is assisted by the Temporary Judge Administrator as provided in rule 10.743.

(b) Publicizing the opportunity to serve as a temporary judge

(1) Except for those courts that have nine or fewer authorized judge positions or use only research attorneys as temporary judges, each trial court that uses court-appointed temporary judges must publicize the opportunity to serve as a temporary judge whenever the court seeks to add attorneys to its pool of temporary judges or within a reasonable time before conducting its mandatory training for temporary judges but, in any case, no less than once every three years.

(2) Courts must publicize this opportunity in a manner that maximizes the potential for a diverse applicant pool, which includes publicizing the opportunity to legal communities and organizations, including all local bar associations, in their geographical area. This publicity should encourage and must provide an equal opportunity for all eligible individuals to seek positions as court-appointed temporary judges and not exclude individuals based on their gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, age, or other protected class.

(c) Nondiscrimination in application and selection procedure Each trial court that uses court-appointed temporary judges must conduct an application and selection procedure for temporary judges that ensures the most qualified applicants for appointment are selected and must not reject applicants who otherwise meet the requirements for appointment based on their gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, sexual orientation, age, or other protected class. Among the qualifications to be considered in the selection procedure are the applicant’s exposure to and experience with diverse populations and issues related to those populations.

(d) Authority to remove or discontinue The presiding judge has the discretion to remove a court-appointed temporary judge or to discontinue using an attorney as a court-appointed temporary judge at any time.

Committee Notes

(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007.)

(Subd (b) adopted effective July 1, 2012.)

(Subd (c) adopted effective July 1, 2012.)

(Subd (d) relettered effective July 1, 2012; adopted as subd (b).)