78A-10-104 - Convening of judicial nominating commissions -- Certification to governor of nominees -- Meetings to investigate prospective candidates. - Utah Statutes

78A-10-104. Convening of judicial nominating commissions -- Certification togovernor of nominees -- Meetings to investigate prospective candidates.
(1) Unless a hiring freeze is implemented in accordance with Section 78A-2-113, thegovernor shall ensure that:
(a) the recruitment period to fill a judicial vacancy begins 235 days before the effectivedate of a vacancy, unless sufficient notice is not given, in which case the recruitment period shallbegin within 10 days of receiving notice;
(b) the recruitment period is a minimum of 30 days but not more than 90 days, unlessfewer than nine applications are received, in which case the recruitment period may be extendedup to 30 days; and
(c) the chair of the judicial nominating commission having authority over the vacancyshall convene a meeting not more than 10 days after the close of the recruitment period.
(2) The time limits in Subsection (1) shall begin to run the day the hiring freeze ends.
(3) The nominating commission may:
(a) meet as necessary to perform its function; and
(b) investigate prospective candidates.
(4) Not later than 45 days after convening, the:
(a) appellate court nominating commission shall certify to the governor a list of the sevenmost qualified applicants per vacancy; and
(b) trial court nominating commission shall certify to the governor a list of the five mostqualified applicants per vacancy.
(5) The governor shall fill the vacancy within 30 days after receiving the list ofnominees.
(6) If the governor fails to fill the vacancy within 30 days of receiving the list ofnominees from the nominating commission, the chief justice of the Supreme Court shall, within20 days, appoint a person from the list of nominees certified to the governor.
(7) A nominating commission may not nominate a person who has served on anominating commission within six months of the date that the commission was last convened.

Amended by Chapter 134, 2010 General Session
Amended by Chapter 134, 2010 General Session, (Coordination Clause)