Opinion ID: 1401746
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Senior Judges

Text: We turn now to Petitioner's assertions that the provisions within the Initiative which deal with senior judges create distinct and separate subjects. The three provisions within the Initiative dealing specifically with senior judges (1) limit the time of service of senior judges, (2) alter the appointment process for senior judges, and (3) require consent from the parties who appear before senior judges. Petitioner alleges that each of these provisions interferes with the administrative duties of the chief justice and the prompt disposition of judicial business, thus creating an additional subject. Respondents, however, argue that the language within the Initiative concerning senior judges fits within the single subject presented by the measure: the qualification of state judicial officers. We agree that the provisions within the Initiative concerning senior judges do not present a separate subject unrelated to the qualification of state judicial officers. The Initiative seeks to change the method by which judicial personnel in general are qualified, appointed and retained; senior judges are judicial personnel. We have previously held that matters relating to the qualification of judges are appropriately embraced within a single initiative. See In re Proposed Initiative for 1997-1998 # 64, 960 P.2d at 1197. Accordingly, the Title Board appropriately determined that the language within the Initiative that referred to senior judges constitutes part of the single subject of the qualifications of state judicial personnel.