Title
Title
Judicial Branch Administration | Qualifying Ethics: Requirements for Retiring Judges (Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
With the support of the chairs of the Judicial Council’s internal committees, Judicial Council staff proposes modifying the ethics training requirements for retiring judges who are enrolled in the Commission on Judicial Performance (CJP) insurance defense program due to the current unavailability of the Qualifying Ethics 7 (QE7) core course. Under the existing policy, judges who retire in 2020 are required to complete the three-hour core course before they retire in order to be allowed to purchase extended coverage under the insurance policy. Because the in-person core courses have been canceled since March 2020 and an online replacement course will likely not be offered until October 2020, this proposal would waive the core course requirement for judges retiring in 2020 so they will be able to obtain extended coverage. The proposal would also delegate to the Administrative Director the authority to modify the requirements as needed to address changing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the availability of QE7 courses.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
With the support of the chairs of the Judicial Council’s internal committees, Judicial Council staff recommends that the Judicial Council, effective September 25, 2020:
1. Modify the requirement that judges retiring in 2020 complete the QE7 core course; and
2. Delegate to the Administrative Director the authority to modify QE7 requirements as needed to address changing circumstances based on the availability of an online substitute for the in person core course.