Article VI, § 15 — RETIREMENT - DISCIPLINE

(a) The General Assembly may provide by law for the retirement of Judges and Associate Judges at a prescribed age. Any retired Judge or Associate Judge, with his or her consent, may be assigned by the Supreme Court to judicial service for which he or she shall receive the applicable compensation in lieu of retirement benefits. A retired Associate Judge may be assigned only as an Associate Judge. (b) A Judicial Inquiry Board is created. The Supreme Court shall select two Circuit Judges as members and the Governor shall appoint four persons who are not lawyers and three lawyers as members of the Board. No more than two of the lawyers and two of the non-lawyers appointed by the Governor shall be members of the same political party. The terms of Board members shall be four years. A vacancy on the Board shall be filled for a full term in the manner the original appointment was made. No member may serve on the Board more than eight years. (c) The Board shall be convened permanently, with authority to conduct investigations, receive or initiate complaints concerning a Judge or Associate Judge, and file complaints with the Courts Commission. The Board shall not file a complaint unless five members believe that a reasonable basis exists (1) to charge the Judge or Associate Judge with willful misconduct in office, persistent failure to perform his duties, or other conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice or that brings the judicial office into disrepute, or (2) to charge that the Judge or Associate Judge is physically or mentally unable to perform his duties. All proceedings of the Board shall be confidential except the filing of a complaint with the Courts Commission. The Board shall prosecute the complaint. (d) The Board shall adopt rules governing its procedures. It shall have subpoena power and authority to appoint and direct its staff. Members of the Board who are not Judges shall receive per diem compensation and necessary expenses; members who are Judges shall receive necessary expenses only. The General Assembly by law shall appropriate funds for the operation of the Board. (e) An independent Courts Commission is created consisting of one Supreme Court Judge selected by that Court as a member and one as an alternate, two Appellate Court Judges selected by that Court as members and three as alternates, two Circuit Judges selected by the Supreme Court as members and three as alternates, and two citizens selected by the Governor as members and two as alternates. Members and alternates who are Appellate Court Judges must each be from a different Judicial District. Members and alternates who are Circuit Judges must each be from a different Judicial District. Members and alternates of the Commission shall not be members of the Judicial Inquiry Board. The members of the Commission shall select a chairperson to serve a two-year term. The Commission shall be convened permanently to hear complaints filed by the Judicial Inquiry Board. The Commission shall have authority after notice and public hearing, (1) to remove from office, suspend without pay, censure or reprimand a Judge or Associate Judge for willful misconduct in office, persistent failure to perform his or her duties, or other conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice or that brings the judicial office into disrepute, or (2) to suspend, with or without pay, or retire a Judge or Associate Judge who is physically or mentally unable to perform his or her duties. (f) The concurrence of four members of the Commission shall be necessary for a decision. The decision of the Commission shall be final. (g) The Commission shall adopt comprehensive rules to ensure that its procedures are fair and appropriate. These rules and any amendments shall be public and filed with the Secretary of State at least 30 days before becoming effective. (h) A member of the Commission shall disqualify himself or herself, or the other members of the Commission shall disqualify a member, with respect to any proceeding in which disqualification or recusal would be required of a Judge under rules of the Supreme Court, under rules of the Commission, or by law. If a Supreme Court Judge is the subject of a proceeding, then there shall be no Supreme Court Judge sitting as a member of the Commission with respect to that proceeding. Instead, an alternate Appellate Court Judge not from the same Judicial District as the subject Supreme Court Judge shall replace the subject Supreme Court Judge. If a member who is an Appellate Court Judge is the subject of a proceeding, then an alternate Appellate Court Judge shall replace the subject Appellate Court Judge. If an Appellate Court Judge who is not a member is the subject of a proceeding and an Appellate Court Judge from the same Judicial District is a member, then an alternate Appellate Court Judge shall replace that member. If a member who is a Circuit Judge is the subject of a proceeding, then an alternate Circuit Judge shall replace the subject Circuit Judge. If a Circuit Judge who is not a member is the subject of a proceeding and a Circuit Judge from the same Judicial District is a member, then an alternate Circuit Judge shall replace that member. If a member of the Commission is disqualified under this Section with respect to any proceeding, that member shall be replaced by an alternate on a rotating basis in a manner provided by rule of the Commission. The alternate shall act as member of the Commission with respect to that proceeding only. (i) The Commission shall have power to issue subpoenas. (j) Members and alternates of the Commission who are not Judges shall receive per diem compensation and necessary expenses; members and alternates who are Judges shall receive necessary expenses only. The General Assembly shall provide by law for the expenses and compensation of the Commission.