(a) There shall be a nonpartisan merit selection commission known as the magistrate merit selection commission on magistrate appointments composed of four (4) attorney members appointed by the county bar association, not more than two (2) of whom shall be of the same political party, and five (5) non-attorney members appointed by the Mayor and Council. Of the five (5) non-attorney members not more than three (3) shall be of the same political party. None of the attorney or non-attorney members of the commission shall hold any other elective or appointive public office or be a member of law enforcement, and no attorney member shall be eligible for appointment to the office of magistrate until one (1) year after ceasing to be a member of the commission. All members shall serve four (4) year terms.
(b) For the purpose of conducting the business of the commission, a quorum shall consist of five (5) members.
(c) Within ninety (90) days from the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of magistrate or at the request of mayor and council, the commission shall recommend to the mayor and council the names of not more than three (3) persons in ranked order to fill the position of magistrate or satisfy such request. Any such candidate shall be:
(1) Of good moral character;
(2) A resident of Arizona for one (1) year immediately preceding recommendation; and
(3) Admitted to the practice of law for five (5) years immediately preceding recommenda-tion.
In addition to other relevant materials and the results of the biennial judicial performance review, where a sitting magistrate seeks a new appointment the commission shall consider the magistrate's courtroom administrative performance, as evidenced by matters including but not limited to case aging, case load, time to rule on matters under advisement and rulings reversed/affirmed on appeal to the extent any such measures do not conflict with judicial independence; and the magistrate's adherence to the city's rules of conduct and code of ethics to the extent adherence is not inconsistent with the Code of Judicial Conduct. The presiding magistrate of the city court shall perform a written annual review of each magistrate's performance measured by these criteria.
(d) No later than nine (9) months prior to the expiration of the term, a magistrate may apply for reappointment in writing to the mayor and council. Upon such notice, the magistrate merit selection commission shall review the term of the magistrate and submit a written report of its findings to the mayor and council, which shall include a recommendation as to the reappointment. Such report shall be submitted at least ten (10) days prior to the expiration of the term. Upon expiration of the magistrate's term, the mayor and council may reappoint the magistrate, or may appoint a successor in accordance with the procedures set forth herein.
(e) A regular magistrate who completes a term in office and does not seek reappointment enters senior special magistrate status. The presiding magistrate of the city court may call a senior special magistrate to serve temporarily as needed; such senior special magistrates shall be compensated (without benefits) at the per-session rate for special magistrates set forth in Section 8-2.2(b) of this code.
(Ord. No. 4815, § 1, 5-22-78; Ord. No. 4866, § 1, 8-7-78; Ord. No. 4919, § 1, 12-18-78; Ord. No. 7305, § 1, 11-6-89; Ord. No. 7513, § 1, 11-19-90; Ord. No. 8189, § 1, 2-7-94; Ord. No. 8254, § 1, 4-25-94; Ord. No. 8569, § 1, 9-5-95; Ord. No. 8767, § 1, 10-21-96; Ord. No. 9086, § 1, 7-6-98; Ord. No. 10062, §§ 1, 2, 10-11-04; Ord. No. 10952, § 1, 12-20-11, eff. 1-1-12; Ord. No. 11335, § 1, 1-5-16; Ord. No. 11626, § 1, 1-20-19)