California Business and Professions Code 6079.1 – (a) The Supreme Court shall appoint a presiding judge of the …
(a) The Supreme Court shall appoint a presiding judge of the State Bar Court. In addition, five hearing judges shall be appointed, two by the Supreme Court, one by the Governor, one by the Senate Committee on Rules, and one by the Speaker of the Assembly, to efficiently decide any and all regulatory matters pending before the Hearing Department of the State Bar Court. The presiding judge and all other judges of that department shall be appointed for a term of six years and may be reappointed for additional six-year terms. Any judge appointed under this section shall be subject to admonition, censure, removal, or retirement by the Supreme Court upon the same grounds as provided for judges of courts of record of this state.
(b) Judges of the State Bar Court appointed under this section shall not engage in the private practice of law. The State Bar Court shall be broadly representative of the ethnic, sexual, and racial diversity of the population of California and composed in accordance with Sections 11140 and 11141 of the Government Code. Each judge:
Terms Used In California Business and Professions Code 6079.1
- board: means any entity listed in Section 101, the entities referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600, the State Bar, the Department of Real Estate, and any other state agency that issues a license, certificate, or registration authorizing a person to engage in a business or profession. See California Business and Professions Code 31
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Licensee: means any person authorized by a license, certificate, registration, or other means to engage in a business or profession regulated by this code or referred to in Sections 1000 and 3600. See California Business and Professions Code 23.8
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Business and Professions Code 21
- Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which that term occurs, unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Business and Professions Code 15
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
(1) Shall have been a licensee of the State Bar for at least five years.
(2) Shall not have any record of the imposition of discipline as an attorney in California or any other jurisdiction.
(3) Shall meet any other requirements as may be established by subdivision (d) of § 12011.5 of the Government Code.
(c) Applicants for appointment or reappointment as a State Bar Court judge shall be screened by an applicant evaluation committee as directed by the Supreme Court. The committee, appointed by the Supreme Court, shall submit evaluations and recommendations to the appointing authority and the Supreme Court as provided in Rule 9.11 of the California Rules of Court, or as otherwise directed by the Supreme Court. The committee shall submit no fewer than three recommendations for each available position.
(d) For judges appointed pursuant to this section or Section 6086.65, the board shall fix and pay reasonable compensation and expenses and provide adequate supporting staff and facilities. Hearing judges shall be paid 91.3225 percent of the salary of a superior court judge. The presiding judge shall be paid the same salary as a superior court judge.
(e) From among the licensees of the State Bar or retired judges, the Supreme Court or the board may appoint pro tempore judges to decide matters in the Hearing Department of the State Bar Court when a judge of the State Bar Court is unavailable to serve without undue delay to the proceeding. Subject to modification by the Supreme Court, the board may set the qualifications, terms, and conditions of service for pro tempore judges and may, in its discretion, compensate some or all of them out of funds appropriated by the board for this purpose.
(f) A judge or pro tempore judge appointed under this section shall hear every regulatory matter pending in the Hearing Department of the State Bar Court as to which the taking of testimony or offering of evidence at trial has not commenced, and when so assigned, shall sit as the sole adjudicator, except for rulings that are to be made by the presiding judge of the State Bar Court or referees of other departments of the State Bar Court.
(g) Any judge or pro tempore judge of the State Bar Court as well as any employee of the State Bar assigned to the State Bar Court shall have the same immunity that attaches to judges in judicial proceedings in this state. Nothing in this subdivision limits or alters the immunities accorded the State Bar, its officers and employees, or any judge or referee of the State Bar Court as they existed prior to January 1, 1989. This subdivision does not constitute a change in, but is cumulative with, existing law.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the board from appointing persons to serve without compensation to arbitrate fee disputes under Article 13 (commencing with Section 6200) or to monitor the probation of a licensee of the State Bar, whether those appointed under Section 6079, as added by Chapter 1114 of the Statutes of 1986, serve in the State Bar Court or otherwise.
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 659, Sec. 60. (AB 3249) Effective January 1, 2019.)