February 22, 2013 - Oregon State Bar

OREGON STATE BAR
Board of Governors Agenda
Meeting Date: November 10, 2012
From:
Ann Fisher, Chair, Policy & Governance Committee
Re:
Amending Appellate Selection Bylaws
Action Recommended
Approve the P&G Committee’s recommendations for amending the OSB Bylaws to
reflect the BOG’s decision to return to the pre-2005 practice of ranking its recommendations to
the Governor for appellate court appointments.
Background
At its August 24, 2012 meeting, the BOG approved the Policy and Governance
Committee’s recommendation to return to the practice of ranking the BOG’s recommendations
for appellate judicial appointments.
For many years prior to 2005, the BOG identified the candidates it believed were “highly
qualified” for the Governor’s appellate court appointments. 1 Although the record is scant as to
why the process was changed, it appears it was done to be “congruent with the Governor’s
desires.”
Under the current procedure, the Bar recommends those candidates it considers
“suitable for consideration by the Governor.” In practice, this has meant that all candidate
names are forwarded to the Governor:
1 The pre-2005 version of Bylaw 2.703 provided in pertinent part:
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(b) The Board may make recommendations to the Governor from the pool of candidates who submit information
to the Bar for appointment to fill vacant positions on the Court of Appeals, Supreme Court or the Oregon Tax
Court. For a vacancy on the Oregon Tax Court, the Board will participate in the process only if requested by the
Governor. The Board will recommend at least three people for the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, and not
less than five names for the Oregon Tax Court, each of whom the Board believes to be highly qualified, based upon
the information obtained in the review process and the following criteria: Integrity, legal knowledge and ability,
professional experience, judicial temperament, diligence, health, financial responsibility and public service as
defined in the ABA Guidelines for Reviewing Qualifications of Candidates. A lawyer who seeks appointment to the
same position within two years of first having received a "highly qualified" rating by the Board, may ask the Board
to submit his or her name to the Governor with a "highly qualified" rating without the need to submit another
application or to be re-interviewed. Candidates in this category must inform the Board of any changes in
information previously submitted. The Board reserves the right to request and receive additional information from
any candidate prior to deciding whether to resubmit the candidate’s name to the Governor as "highly qualified." In
addition to submitting its list of "highly qualified" candidates, the Board will respond to any specific request of the
Governor whether certain other candidates in the pool meet a "qualified" standard. A "highly qualified" or
"qualified" recommendation is intended to be objective. Failure to recommend a candidate in any particular
selection process is not a finding that the person is unqualified.