Administrative Rule 48 - NORTH DAKOTA JUDICIAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

SECTION 1. POLICY.

The North Dakota judicial system policy is to promote the self-improvement of judicial officers by establishing a mandatory judicial improvement program that assists each judicial officer in improving judicial performance and conduct in order to enhance the effective and efficient performance of judicial duties.

SECTION 2. APPLICATION.

This rule applies to all judicial officers. For purposes of this rule, "judicial officer" means justices of the supreme court, judges of the district court, and judicial referees. This rule does not apply to surrogate judges or judges of the municipal courts.

SECTION 3. IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) Except for the compiling and summarizing of survey results, the judicial improvement program will be managed by the office of the state court administrator consistent with the requirements of this rule.

(b) Approved forms must be used throughout the state as the minimum survey document to provide comments to the individual judicial officer. The forms may be modified periodically. Survey instruments may elicit both qualitative, non-numerical and quantitative, numerical responses.

(c) Whenever possible, the court will use an electronic survey process. Attorneys and court personnel will be notified when the survey period for a judicial officer has been opened. The response period will be 14 days from the date of the notice.

(d) The subject of the survey must not receive or see the completed survey document. The subject judicial officer must select another judicial officer or other person, or both, who will review the survey results with the judicial officer. The subject judicial officer must provide the name of the reviewer to personnel designated under subsection 3(a), who must notify the entity identified in subsection 3(e).

(e) The supreme court will contract with an independent entity for purposes of receiving and summarizing survey information, and transmitting survey summaries to reviewers. Upon receiving the survey results, the entity must summarize the responses and provide narrative and statistical summaries to the reviewer selected by the subject judicial officer. The summaries should separately reflect information provided by attorneys and self-represented litigants and by court personnel unless, based on the number of responses, segregating the information may result in identification of survey respondents.

(f) Upon receiving the survey summary, the reviewer must review the information with the subject judicial officer and make recommendations to aid in improving judicial performance.

SECTION 4. FREQUENCY OF SURVEYS.

Judicial improvement surveys must be conducted within two years following the election of the subject judicial officer unless the judicial officer is a referee, in which case the surveys must be conducted during each four year period following the referee's appointment. Only one survey for each judicial officer is required during each term of office, or four year period, but a judicial officer may elect to have surveys conducted more frequently.

SECTION 5. CONFIDENTIALITY—DISPOSITION OF SURVEY RESULTS.

Survey results, summaries, and any reports are confidential and may not be disclosed except as provided in this rule. The subject judicial officer may not publicly disclose information resulting from the review conducted under subsection 3(f). The reviewer may not disclose survey summary information to anyone other than the survey subject. Following completion of each survey process, the reviewer must return the summary information to the entity described in subsection 3(e). After the return of the survey summary, the entity must immediately destroy the summary, along with any related survey information. The entity shall not retain any survey information concerning a subject judicial officer after completion of the survey process.