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DELEGATE J. CLARK: Mr. Chairman,
ladies and gentlemen, I think the reason
for this amendment is obvious. The possi-
bility exists that perhaps no list will be
forthcoming from a Commission, and I
think in this eventuality we should make
the provision that the governor could pro-
ceed and fill the vacancy, and for that
reason I recommend adoption of this
amendment.
I believe that the Chairman of the Com-
mittee would concur, at least I hope he
would. Thank you.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd.
DELEGATE MUDD: Mr. Chairman, we
recognize that this amendment is designed
to provide for a possibility, however re-
mote, at the beginning of the process for
the selection of a judge and since it does
fill the void that conceivably could come
about in the event that the nominating
commission did reach an impasse and failed
to provide the list, the governor should then
have the power to fill the vacancy from any
eligible, by appointing any eligible person.
We see no serious objection to the inclu-
sion of this language in section 5.14, and
unless some member of the Committee has
objection, I concur in the amendment.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Schneider.
DELEGATE SCHNEIDER: Mr. Chair-
man, I have an objection. My objection, Mr.
Chairman, if I am in order to speak to this
now —
THE CHAIRMAN: If you are speaking
in opposition to the amendment, you may.
DELEGATE SCHNEIDER: Yes, sir.
My objection is, I see this as perhaps caus-
ing the commission to reach an impasse. It
leaves them a way out if they want to leave
it up to the governor, and if they want to
avoid their duty to make nominations, they
can do it by just reaching an impasse and
waiting and letting the governor fill it
under this provision. I think this might
also cause the governor to give more con-
sideration to the politics of a layman he
puts on because he might want to put lay-
men on there to try to reach an impasse.
For this reason, I think this would be a
bad amendment and would probably bring
politics back into the nominating commis-
sion; and for that reason I am very much
opposed to this, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case. Do
you desire to speak in favor or against?
DELEGATE CASE: I would like to ask
Delegate Mudd a question, if I may.
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THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd, do
you yield to a question?
DELEGATE MUDD: Yes, sir.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Would it be pos-
sible, Delegate Mudd, under this amend-
ment, for the governor to effectively block
the procedures that you have already estab-
lished, by backing or by putting people on
the nominating commission who. just would
not act, thereby giving him the right to
name anybody he would like to?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd.
DELEGATE MUDD: That appears to
be the point Delegate Schneider has just
raised, and again I say it is an apparent
possibility. Frankly, it had not occurred to
me before he raised the question. I would
think it is extremely remote that that
would occur.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Case.
DELEGATE CASE: Would it be out of
order to suggest that this amendment lay
over until you have a chance to talk to the
members of your Committee and your ad-
viser to see whether or not as a matter of
fact this wouldn't thwart the very thing
you are trying to achieve?
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Mudd.
DELEGATE MUDD: I would be very
happy to have the view of the members of
the Committee, and that is why I invited
them to speak if they had opposition to it;
and if it is desirable for it to lay over, I
am happy to concur in that suggestion.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Henderson.
DELEGATE HENDERSON: If it is in
order for me to speak as a member of the
Committee, I would view this amendment
with considerable distrust. It seems to me
that particularly now, when we have an
even number on the commission, half law-
yers and half laymen, it might well be that
the governor — I do not say that in the
near future, but we cannot tell what sort
of governors we might have — we might
have one in the future that would attain
one way or another control of half the
members and that by simply doing nothing,
he would then have the complete power to
circumvent the whole scheme in here; and
while that may be a remote possibility, I
think it is something that we should not
encourage, and I see no reason for the
amendment at all, as a matter of fact.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate James.
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