Meeting Minutes 05/15/2020

Mr. Pope Langdale
Judge Stacey Hydrick
Mr. Bob Barr
Mr. Warren Selby
Judge Verda Colvin
Mr. James Balli

Mr. Chuck Boring- Director
Ms. Courtney Veal – Deputy Director
Ms. Phyllis Motes – Case Manager
Lance Alford – Investigator

Chairman Langdale called the meeting to order and determined that a quorum was present.

Upon motion and second, the Minutes of the April 17, 2020 Open Meeting were approved.

Chairman Langdale had no further comments, and he turned the meeting over to the Director.

Mr. Boring began by discussing the updated Judicial Emergency Order which has been extended through June 12, 2020. He said that the extension may increase complaints about how the courts are currently operating. He is planning to direct the complaints to the appropriate court council. He also stated that the extension may give the Panel more flexibility in how they deal with complaints.

Mr. Boring then briefly discussed the current personnel floor limit in place at the office during the judicial emergency. The number of JQC staff members present in the building are limited at this time. While there is some overlap with staff members being in the office at the same time, efforts are being made to limit multiple members being present for long periods of time.

Mr. Boring then moved to a discussion regarding the Panel’s June meeting. He asked the Panel if they preferred that the meeting be held on June 12 or 19.

The Panel discussed the suggested dates and decided that June 19 worked for the majority of members.

Mr. Boring then asked the Panel how they felt about inviting the Hearing Panel to attend the June meeting virtually to catch up on various issues.

The Panel agreed to invite the Hearing Panel to the June meeting. They also suggested that the meeting be set for a specific time period.

Mr. Boring agreed with their suggestion.

Mr. Boring then moved to a discussion on the Rule 29 Committee. He stated that they are doing an outstanding job handling complaints against judicial candidates.

Mr. Boring then moved to a discussion regarding when the legislative session will reconvene. He said that they are still trying to decide on a date. He asked Mr. Balli ifhe had further information about it.

Mr. Balli said that the Legislature would be back in session on June 11.

Mr. Boring then directed the Panel’s attention to the April Financial Report. He added that the Governor has asked for a 14% cut throughout all agencies.

The Panel then discussed the matter further.

Mr. Boring then asked if there was any old or new business that needed to be discussed.

Judge Hydrick stated that she has suggested that it would be helpful to have the meeting minutes prepared closer to the meetings. She said this would ensure that the details are still fresh in the Panel members’ recollection.

Mr. Boring said that he agreed. He also stated that Mr. Barr has suggested that minutes be written in bullet point form. He said that he would be looking into that suggestion further.

There being no further old or new business for discussion, the Open Meeting was adjourned.