Attorney General No.

SA95RF0054

Secretary of State No.

710

Description

JUDGES. LIMITING IMMUNITY. SPECIAL GRAND JURIES. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT. Limits immunity from civil liability for state judges, commissioners, and arbitrators. Eliminates immunity for deliberate violations of law, clear constitutional violations, deliberate disregard of material facts, unreasonably delaying case, and other acts. Creates three new statewide Special Grand Juries with power to indict and, through a special trial jury, to convict and sentence judges for criminal conduct. Each Special Grand Jury also empowered to determine whether a judge may invoke judicial immunity in a civil action and to permanently remove judges who receive three adverse immunity decisions. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: This measure is likely to result in major costs to the state, probably in the range of $15 million to $20 million annually. These expenses mainly arise from the measure's mandate that each Special Grand Juror receive a salary commensurate with that of a Superior Court judge (currently $112,000 per year) and that each Special Grand Jury's operational budget be commensurate with the Commission on Judicial Performance or the combined salaries of the 25 Special Grand Jurors serving full time, whichever is greater.

Proponents

Ronald Branson; Gladys O. Miller; Elizabeth Michael; Charlena Alden; H. R. Culver; Richard M. Combs; Elliott S. Graham; Rose Irene Jensen The Judicial Reform Act Of 1996, 11304 Chandler Boulevard -- #207, North Hollywood, Ca 91603 (818) 386-5804

Date

1-29-1996

Document Type

Initiative

Qualified

Failed to Qualify

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