SB88 Summary

• Creates the permanent Judicial Resources Allocation Commission composed of the Chief Justice (chair), Governor's legal advisor, Attorney General, three circuit judges, three district judges, and two attorneys to review judicial resource needs annually.

• Commission must annually review and rank district and circuit courts for need to increase or decrease judgeships using Judicial Weighted Caseload Study, population based on decennial census, judicial duties, and other relevant information.

• Authorizes commission to reallocate vacant judgeships (due to death, retirement, resignation, or removal) to another district or circuit within 30 days, provided no district/circuit moves into the ten most-needed counties/circuits and each county retains at least one district judge.

• Requires Alabama Supreme Court to revise the Judicial Weighted Caseload Study by January 1, 2017 to uniformly account for criminal cases by counts, with no reallocation permitted until three years of revised data is available.

• Act becomes effective immediately upon passage and gubernatorial approval.