Prop 190: Commission on Judicial Performance

The way it is now:

There is a 9 person committee which handles complaints about judges. It
is called the Commission on Judicial Performance. It is made up of 5
judges, 2 lawyers and 2 members of the public. Most complaints are
handled without formal hearings. In 1993, 9 out of 950 complaints ended
up in a hearing. These hearings are not usually open to the public.

What Prop 190 would do:

* Add two members to the Commission, and change who is on it. There
would be 6 from the public, 3 judges and 2 lawyers.

* All formal hearings against judges would be open to the public.

* The Commission would have greater power to remove or punish judges for
misconduct.

What it will cost:

Prop 190 will not affect the cost of government very much.

Pros:

"There has been only one public hearing about a judge's performance in
the past 6 years. Serious complaints against judges should not be
handled in secret."

"Having the public be the majority on the Commission will help make sure
the system is fair and firm."

Cons:

"The increased number of public members are really just political
appointments. Prop 190 is a power grab by the Legislature to control
more of the courts."

"The few hearings that happen should be open to the public, but Prop 190
is not the best way to do this."

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