Committee / Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission
Date
Time
Location / Tuesday, August 11, 2015
9:00am – 11:00 am
CCJJ Large Conference Room
Members Present / Kelsie Strong, John Ashton, Gil Miller, David Jordan, David Roth, Shannon Sebahar, Eric DeRosia, Di Allison, Bob Fotheringham, Ann Marie Allen, Ron Gordon
Members Excused / Nate Alder, Sonya Martinez
Guests / Paul Tonks
Staff / Kelsey Garner, Joanne Slotnik, Liz Cordova
Agenda Item / Welcome John Ashton
Approval of Minutes
Notes / John welcomed the group.
Motion: David J. moved to approve the minutes. Shannon seconded the motion which passed unanimously.
Agenda Item / Audit Report Joanne Slotnik
Notes / The audit has come back with no large issues. There were a few systematic errors in labeling, but these did not affect the category scores. There were no new or unresolved concerns. The audit reviewed the issue raised in 2013 about out-of-state attorneys with bar numbers identical to UT attorneys; the AOC has resolved the issue. The Utah Criminal Justice Center will review the actual report form when it is finalized to ensure the survey data is transferred properly into the report. Joanne recommends that JPEC contract for an audit as a standard operating procedure before every survey unless there are no changes to the survey. Joanne will talk to the Criminal Justice Center about establishing a long-term relationship to do this work.
Agenda Item: / Website Update Kelsey Garner
Notes: / Kelsey updates the group on the progress of the website committee. DTS or Utah Interactive were considered as possible providers; both have contracts with the state for website development. The committee has selected Utah Interactive [“UI”]. Their Statement of Work estimate was higher than DTS’s, but UI uniquely included a cost allocation for both a project manager and a business analyst. Kelsey stressed the importance of these positions to push the project forward and ensure success. The commission did not think a vote was necessary to ratify this decision. The overall timeline is about 3-4 months; Kelsey will move the website development forward during the upcoming deliberation time. If schedules are just too tight, there is sufficient time to wrap it all up after deliberations conclude.
Agenda Item: / Rules Subcommittee - John Ashton
Final Discussion and Vote on Public Comments
ACTION ITEM: / The group discussed at length whether “firsthand experience” should be a condition for accepting public comments about judges. Commissioners (once again and finally) discussed concerns about the public’s right to submit information when the basis of the submitter’s knowledge is unclear.
Moion: David J. moved to amend Admin. R. 597-3-5 to remove restrictions to “firsthand experience” and to amend website language to include check-off boxes about the source of the commenter’s information. Shannon seconded the motion, which passed with a vote of 8-3; Ann Marie Allen, Di Allison John Ashton opposed.
Agenda Item: / Disclosures / Recusals for all 2016 Retention Judges John Ashton
Notes: / Commissioners were given the opportunity to disclose and/or recuse on any 2016 judges, pursuant to Admin. R597-2-2. A list of 2016 judges is appended to these minutes. The following recusals/disclosures were made:
Gil Miller – recuses himself on Judge David Miller, for whom Gil has been employed as an accountant.
No other commissioners recused themselves. Each attorney commissioner disclosed appearances before or other interactions with various judges at various times, but none felt these interactions would preclude their participation in the evaluation process. No disqualifications were requested.
Agenda Item: / Updates Joanne Slotnik
- Final, corrected CS/JCP numbers
- Attorney Survey Status
- Technical Writer Status
Notes: / Joanne corrects numbers provided last month for the court staff component of the court staff/JCP survey. The correct combined response rate was 52%, down 5% from 2013. The attorney survey response rate is also down this year by about 10%. We are unsure why. This year we focused more on encouraging attorneys to respond. For example, we instituted a single, customized “landing page” for each attorney so that all assigned surveys could be accessed from one location. We also sent participation requests from the 3 branches of government and from the Bar president. Bob suggests we have a marketing problem and should consider exploring with the Bar why the response rate has decreased.
The launch of the attorney survey was marred by one glitch. Market Decisions sent the prenotification letter from their server but then sent the actual survey invitation through the Qualtrics server. The prenotification letter thus did not accomplish its intended purpose of testing whether the survey link sent via Qualtrics would get through spam filters or other agency blocks. We discovered the problem only when several commissioners contacted Joanne, reporting that they had received the prenotification letter but not the survey. Market Decisions remedied the situation and has worked with firms individually, but we have not recovered from that slow start.
The commission asked Joanne to draft a letter that can be sent to participating attorneys from the Chief Justice, as a personal plea for them to respond so we can get an accurate picture of the judiciary. Joanne will do so.
The technical writer hiring is in process, and the group has been whittled down to 5. Candidates are currently preparing writing samples, which are due today. Final selection will occur on August 17th, with the two writers scheduled to receive their first set of data on August 25th.
Agenda Item: / The Deliberation process begins Joanne Slotnik
Joanne walked the group through the deliberation schedule from September through December. The meetings will be full 4-hour discussions; and we will be writing and re-writing the narratives. Joanne will bring treats on Sept. 8th; Gil volunteered for Sept. 24th.
Adjourn: / Motion: Bob moves to adjourn.
Next Meeting /
The next Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 8th , 8:00 a.m- Noon, in the CCJJ conference room.
Type / Last / First / Court / District / FT/PTDistrict / Allphin / Michael G / Farmington District Court / 2 / Full / 105 Judges
District / Blanch / James T. / Third District Court / 3 / Full / 52 FT
District / Cannell / Brian / First District Court / 1 / Full / 53 PT
District / Chiara / Samuel / Eighth District Court / 8 / Full
District / Chon / Su J. / Third District Court / 3 / Full
District / Dawson / Glen R. / Bountiful District Court / 2 / Full
District / Faust / Robert / Third District Court / 3 / Full
District / Harmond / George M. / Carbon County District Court / 7 / Full
District / Howard / Fred D. / Fourth District Court / 4 / Full
District / Jones / Ernest W. / Second District Court / 2 / Full
District / Kouris / Mark S. / West Jordan District Court / 3 / Full
District / Lawrence / Barry / Third District Court / 3 / Full
District / Laycock / Claudia / Fourth District Court / 4 / Full
District / Lubeck / Bruce C. / West Jordan District Court / 3 / Full
District / McDade / Darold J. / Fourth District Court / 4 / Full
District / Mortensen / David N. / Fourth District Court / 4 / Full
District / Parker / Paul / Third District Court / 3 / Full
District / Skanchy / Randall N. / Third District Court / 3 / Full
District / Thomas / Douglas B. / Carbon County District Court / 7 / Full
District / Trease / Vernice S / Third District Court / 3 / Full
District / Wilcox / Jeffrey / St. George District Court / 5 / Full
Juvenile / Andrus / J.Mark / Davis County Juvenile Court / 2 / Full
Juvenile / Bazzelle / Suchada / American Fork Juvenile Court / 4 / Full
Juvenile / Eddington / Keith / Eigth District Juvenile Court - Duchesne / 8 / Full
Juvenile / Evershed / Ryan / Eigth District Juvenile Court - Duchesne / 8 / Full
Juvenile / Higbee / Thomas M. / Cedar City Juvenile Court / 5 / Full
Juvenile / Hornak / Kimberly K / Salt Lake City Juvenile Court / 3 / Full
Juvenile / Jimenez / Renee / Salt Lake City Juvenile Court / 3 / Full
Juvenile / Lyman / Paul D. / Sevier County Juvenile Court / 6 / Full
Juvenile / May / Mark W / Tooele County Juvenile Court / 3 / Full
Juvenile / Michie / James R. / Salt Lake City Juvenile Court / 3 / Full
Juvenile / Smith / F. Richards / Provo Juvenile Court / 4 / Full
Justice / Baxter / John L. / Salt Lake City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Christensen / Kevin R. / Box Elder County Justice Court / 1 / Full / Garland City Justice Court / Tremonton City Justice Court / Willard City Justice Court
Justice / Cullimore / Scott J. / Utah County Justice Court / 4 / Full
Justice / Cutler / L.G. / Salt Lake City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Gilmore / Clint / West Valley City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Graves-Robertson / Shauna / Salt Lake County Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Jensen / Jerald L. / Davis County Justice Court / 2 / Full / Sunset City Justice Court
Justice / Johnson / Catherine M. / South Salt Lake City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Kunz / Ronald E. / West Jordan City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Kwan / Michael W. / Taylorsville City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Lockwood / Andrea W. / Ogden City Justice Court / 2 / Full
Justice / McCullagh / Brendan P. / West Valley City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Miller / Margaret / Iron County Justice Court / 5 / Full
Justice / Ridge / Stevan W. / Utah County Justice Court / 4 / Full
Justice / Robison / Jeanne M. / Salt Lake City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Romney / Vernon F. / Provo City Justice Court / 4 / Full
Justice / Thompson / W. Paul / Murray City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Waterfall / R. Scott / Roy City Justice Court / 2 / Full
Justice / Whitlock / Douglas / Washington County Justice Court / 5 / Full
Justice / Wolthuis / Ronald C. / Midvale City Justice Court / 3 / Full
Justice / Hall / Evan B. / Lewiston City Justice Court / 1 / Part
Justice / Marx / David C. / Hyde Park / North Logan Justice Court / 1 / Part
Justice / McKinnon / Ross K. / Rich County Justice Court / 1 / Part
Justice / Moore / Terry / Smithfield City Justice Court / 1 / Part / Wellsville City Justice Court
Justice / Nelson / Kevin L. / Mantua Town Justice Court / 1 / Part
Justice / Larsen / Paul / Hyrum City Justice Court / 1 / Part
Justice / Cook / Trevor Layne / Nibley City Justice Court / 1 / Part
Justice / Beesley / James L. / Plain City Justice Court / 2 / Part
Justice / Hassell / Tony / Morgan County Justice Court / 2 / Part
Justice / Lambert / Patrick E. / Farr West City Justice Court / 2 / Part / North Ogden Justice Court / Pleasant View City Justice Court / Uintah City Justice Court / Washington Terrace City Justice Court
Justice / Miller / David L. / Centerville CityJustice Court / 2 / Part / North Salt Lake Justice Court
Justice / Renstrom / Reuben John / South Weber City Justice Court / 2 / Part / South Ogden City Justice Court
Justice / Mickelsen / Scott / Bluffdale City Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Balmforth / Clinton / Alta Town Justice Court / 3 / Part / South Jordan City Justice Court
Justice / Bertch / Daniel F. / Draper City Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Bown / Gregory L. / Riverton City Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Powell / Ronald E. / Stockton - Rush Valley Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Thomas / Marsha C. / Taylorsville City Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Magid / Sydney / Salt Lake City Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Farr / Paul C. / Sandy City Justice Court / 3 / Part
Justice / Bullock / W. Brent / Lindon City Justice Court / 4 / Part / Pleasant Grove City Justice Court
Justice / Dahlquist / David C. / Payson City Justice Court / 4 / Part
Justice / Fenstermaker / Sherlynn / Mapleton City Justice Court / 4 / Part / Springville City Justice Court
Justice / Haveron / Debra / Millard County Justice Court / 4 / Part
Justice / Nielsen / Douglas / Lehi City Justice Court / 4 / Part
Justice / Howard / Carolyn / Saratoga Springs Justice Court / 4 / Part
Justice / Williams / Sharla / Genola City Justice Court / 4 / Part / Goshen City Justice Court / Juab County Justice Court / Levan City Justice Court / Nephi City Justice Court / Santaquin City Justice Court
Justice / Dunlap / Brent A. / Parowan City Justice Court / 5 / part / Iron County Justice Court
Justice / Armstrong / Kenneth E. / Santa Clara City Justice Court / 5 / Part
Justice / Bradshaw / Shadrach / Beaver County Justice Court - Beaver Precinct / 5 / Part
Justice / Cox / Dennis B. / Beaver County Justice Court - Beaver Precinct / 5 / Part
Justice / Bunnell / Lee / Washington City Justice Court / 5 / Part
Justice / Graff / Kenneth Jake / Hildale City Justice Court / 5 / Part
Justice / Robinson / Jetta A. / Beaver County Minorsville Justice Court / 5 / Part
Justice / Myers / Karlin S. / Hurricane City Justice Court / 5 / Part
Justice / Whitlock / Douglas / Enterprise City Justice Court / 5 / Part
Justice / Brown / Roy / Wayne County Justice Court / 6 / Part
Justice / Bulkley / Russell / Garfield County Justice Court / 6 / Part
Justice / Christensen / Elizabeth A. / Escalante City Justice Court / 6 / Part
Justice / Heaton / F. Kirk / Kane County Justice Court / 6 / Part
Justice / Peterson / Ivo Ray / Fairview City Justice Court / 6 / Part / Fountain Green City Justice Court / Gunnison City Justice Court / Manti City Justice Court / Moroni City Justice Court / Mt. Pleasant City Justice Court
Justice / Thompson / Peter J. / Big Water Municipal Court / 6 / Part
Justice / Walker / William / Blanding City Justice Court / 7 / Part
Justice / Hazleton II / Lyon W. / Monticello City Justice Court / 7 / Part / San Juan County Justice Court
Justice / Murdock / Linda / East Carbon City Justice Court / 7 / Part / Helper City Justice Court
Justice / Stream / Steven L. / Emery County Justice Court - Castle Dale Precinct / 7 / Part / Emery County Justice Court - Green River Precinct
Justice / Hartmann / Charlene S. / Daggett County Justice Court - Manila Precinct / 8 / Part
Justice / Richards / Ray R. / Vernal City Justice Court / 8 / Part
Justice / Petry / G.A. "Jody" / Naples City Justice Court / 8 / Part / Uintah County Justice Court
Justice / Poulson / Clair / Duchesne County Justice Court / 8 / Part
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