2.05.040 Judges | Robinson Rancheria Tribal Code

2.05.040 Judges.

(a) Chief Judge. The chief judge and any person appointed to the court of appeals shall be a graduate of an accredited law school who is an attorney at law licensed to practice law in any state, tribal or federal court with not less than seven years’ experience practicing law, including as a judge, with demonstrated knowledge of federal Indian law.

(b) Associate Judge. The associate judge shall have the same qualifications as the chief judge, but with not less than three years’ experience.

(c) Disqualification. No persons shall serve as judge of the trial court or court of appeal who have been convicted of: (i) a felony at any time or (ii) misdemeanor involving a crime of moral turpitude within the last three years. No person shall serve as a judge of the trial court or court of appeal until a bond has been posted, at tribal expense, in an amount determined by the business council or until the person is covered by a blanket bond or insurance provided for all tribal employees. No person shall serve as a judge of the trial court or the court of appeal who holds any elective office of the tribe.

(2) Appointment and Term of Service. After advertisement and interviewing by the business council, the business council will select the most qualified applicant for the position of chief judge and judges to the court of appeal. The terms of offices shall be as set forth in a judicial services contract negotiated between the business council and the chief judge and such other judges as the business council shall appoint.

(a) Chief Judge. The chief judge will be responsible for:

(i) Developing rules of civil procedure and evidence for the efficient operation of the tribal court, subject to approval by the business council;

(ii) Hearing all matters delegated to the court by ordinance;

(iii) Development and maintenance of a list of acting judges to be called upon to hear cases in the event of disqualification of a judge or as deemed necessary. The list shall always contain three qualified acting judges;

(iv) Development and maintenance, with the assistance of the clerk of the court, of a system for record keeping and a docket system;

(v) Maintenance of legal research resources;

(vi) Preparation of the court’s annual plan and budget;

(vii) Issuing receipts for any monies collected or paid out by the tribal court;

(viii) Depositing all receipts into the tribal accounting system earmarked for inclusion in the tribal court’s annual plan and budget; and

(ix) Supervising and coordinating training of court personnel and peacemakers.

(b) Associate Judge. The associate judge will be responsible for hearing all cases as are assigned by the chief judge and other duties as assigned by the chief judge.

(c) Judges to the Court of Appeal. The judges to the court of appeal shall perform those duties set forth in a separate ordinance adopted by the business council for that purpose.

(4) Removal. During the tenure of his or her appointment, any judge may be suspended, dismissed, or removed for cause by the business council by a three-fourths vote of the business council. The tribal chairperson or his/her designate shall make available copies of a written statement setting out the facts and reasons for the proposed action to the judge in question, the other judges, and to members of the business council at least 14 calendar days before the next regularly scheduled meeting of the business council at which the charges shall be presented. The secretary of the business council shall give notice of the hearing to the judge by personal service and to the tribal membership by posting a notice of the date, place and time of the hearing at the business council office and at, at least, two other conspicuous places on the reservation. The meeting shall be a public hearing where the accused judge shall be given an adequate opportunity to answer any and all charges. Causes deemed sufficient for such action shall directly relate to the performance of the duties of the judge as set forth in this chapter, the rules governing judicial conduct adopted by the court, and other applicable tribal ordinances or rules of the court. Such causes may include but are not limited to: excessive use of intoxicants or legal drugs, use of any illegal drug, conviction of any felony or other offense involving moral turpitude, use of official position for personal gain, or failure to perform judicial duties adequately in accordance with the terms of this chapter. No judge shall be removed from office for exercising his/her discretion or for making a particular decision in a case. The decision of the business council shall be final, unless a court of appeal is established in which case, the business council decision may be appealed by filing a notice of appeal not later than 30 days after the decision has been served on the judge. The court of appeal shall determine whether the removal was based on proper grounds as set forth herein and whether the decision is supported by substantial evidence in light of the whole record before the business council. The appeal shall be conducted in accordance with procedures set forth in an appropriate ordinance or rules adopted in compliance with this chapter.

(a) Conflict of Interest. No judge shall be qualified to hear any case where (i) she/he has any direct interest, (ii) any party involved in the case includes a relative by marriage or blood in the first or second degree, (iii) for any other reason the judge cannot be impartial; or (iv) the judge finds that a reasonable person would believe that he or she could not be impartial. A judge may be disqualified upon his/her own motion or by application by any party in the proceeding upon filing a verified motion in writing.

(b) Bias or Prejudice. Upon the filing of an affidavit by a party setting forth facts establishing that by reason of bias or prejudice of the judge to whom the case is assigned, the party cannot have a fair trial, the judge shall disqualify himself/herself. Such affidavit must be filed not less than five days prior to the first hearing in the case in which the judge may be required to make a ruling or decision. Each party shall be entitled to only one peremptory challenge to disqualify a judge under this section in each case and waives that right, if the affidavit is not filed within the time required herein.

(6) Acting Judges. In the event that there is no qualified judge or there are an insufficient number of judges available to hear a particular case, the chief judge shall appoint the acting judge or acting judges selected by random drawing from the temporary judge list, with the full powers of a regularly appointed tribal judge to hear and dispose of the case. The qualifications for temporary judges must meet the minimum qualification of associate judges. Such appointment shall be only for the period of time necessary to dispose of the case in question.

(7) Compensation. The chief judge, judges of the court of appeal and associate judges shall be compensated at a rate and under such terms and conditions as the business council shall from time to time establish by resolution adopted pursuant to this chapter. [Ord. 2009-06-03 § 3(9.5.040), 2009.]