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DELEGATE MUDD: Is that under
eligibility for appointment as a judge?
DELEGATE SICKLES: I wish you
would clarify it with respect to all of these
possible applications.
DELEGATE MUDD: Our Committee
had before it a proposal on eligibility that
is slightly different from that which we
adopted. The proposal considered by the
Committee was that a lawyer would be
eligible for appointment to the Bench
within the district or county in which he
lived, or in which he had his principal
office.
Our majority view rejected the latter
classification and for eligibility of appoint-
ment it was decided the judge must reside
in the area or political subdivision where
the vacancy exists.
Now, as to eligibility for election, or ap-
pointment to the nominating commission, I
think the word "area" is used because it
was possible that the nominating commis-
sion might be for an area larger than one
county, but I would say that it was our
thinking that it would mean residence and
not practicing area.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Sickles.
DELEGATE SICKLES: If I may ask a
further question, would that also apply to
the poll if taken by secret ballot?
DELEGATE MUDD: Of the lawyers re-
siding in the area and not practicing
therein? I would say, yes.
DELEGATE SICKLES: Would the
Court of Appeals have any authority under
its rule-making power to define with fur-
ther clarity what a lawyer would be under
the terms of this article? I am thinking in
terms of that person who may have prac-
ticed a few years before, but who now is
the president of a bank as a full-time occu-
pation, and therefore although he may have
his name on the door somewhere is not
really in point of fact currently practicing
law. I would assume that this is an open
question, as I read it now in the article,
and there would be the possibility of fur-
ther employment by either the General As-
sembly or the Court of Appeals.
DELEGATE MUDD: I think it is obvi-
ously implicit in our recommendation, in
the last sentence of section 5.17, which
states that election procedures and eligi-
bility of lawyer members of nominating
commissions and of their electors shall be
prescribed by rule. The Court of Appeals
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would have within its rule-making power
an opportunity to be more definitive in
that area.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot.
DELEGATE CHABOT: In sections 5.15
and 5.16, where the appointment of the
nominating commission is provided for,
there is no indication as to whether there
is an intention that terms be staggered,
and no provision for vacancies. Is it possi-
ble for an entire commission to be ap-
pointed or elected, as the case may be, at
one time?
DELEGATE MUDD: It would have to
be initially, certainly.
DELEGATE CHABOT: Yes, but after
the initial appointment or election, in view
of the fact that both sections set forth the
length of the term, is it possible that there-
after, with the possible exception of vacan-
cies, that the person who happens to be
governor at the time may appoint all those
he has an opportunity to appoint at one
time?
DELEGATE MUDD: I do not recall that
that possibility was discussed in Commit-
tee, but it seems to me that we did con-
sider the probability, as well as the possi-
bility, that by retirement or resignation or
death, that the term would ultimately be-
come staggered.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot.
DELEGATE CHABOT: With regard to
section 5.18, it is provided that the lay
members shall be appointed from the quali-
fied voters of the state; but the qualified
voters will not include anyone who is a
member of the bar of the State? Is that
the intention of the Committee?
DELEGATE MUDD: That would be my
interpretation of the intention of the Com-
mittee, yes.
THE CHAIRMAN: Delegate Chabot
DELEGATE CHABOT: With regard to
section 5.20, a non-judicial member of the
commission may not hold any public office
for profit.
Would this forbid a non-judicial member
from holding any federal office, or is this
limited to offices of profit in this State?
DELEGATE MUDD: We use public of-
fice as a second choice. Delegate Chabot,
first having in the draft as I recollect it,
state or local public office. We substituted
public office as being more inclusive and
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