Friday, June 01, 2007
NANCY WILSTACH
News staff writer
Two pieces of Shelby County legislation have cleared both houses of the Alabama Legislature, their sponsor, State Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, said Thursday.
The measures would establish a judicial appointments commission and abolish the office of constable in Shelby County.
The creation of a judicial appointments commission to fill vacancies on the district and circuit bench in the 18th Judicial Circuit, which is Shelby County, requires a vote of the people to become law because it is an amendment to the Alabama Constitution of 1901.
That referendum will coincide with the Feb. 5 presidential primary, Ward said.
If the referendum passes, it would create a commission similar to the one in Jefferson County to recommend candidates to the governor in the event of a death or resignation among Shelby County's judges.
Ward's bill passed the House in early April and has languished in the Senate during a procedural battle that clogged up the legislative process in the upper chamber for weeks, finally surfacing for a vote Thursday.
The judicial appointments commission would comprise five members: two appointed from the Shelby County Bar Association; two non-lawyers named by the Shelby County Legislative Delegation; and the fifth member would be the presiding judge of the 18th Judicial Circuit. All members must be Shelby County residents.
The commission would recommend three names to the governor as candidates for each vacancy that occurs on the circuit or district benches in Shelby County.
The present process allows any lawyer to present his or her name to the governor for consideration.
"We need more local input on the judicial appointments," Ward said. "This has worked well in other places, and it was requested by the local bar association and our local judges."
The abolition of the office of constable does not affect the 11 currently in office, Ward said. Constables have no defined duties and receive no pay.
The constables finish their current terms in 2008, and, after that, the office would cease to exist, Ward said. That bill has been signed by Gov. Bob Riley.
Ward said he introduced the constable bill at the request of Sheriff Chris Curry and the Shelby County Chiefs Association.