A hearing having been held on February 17, 2000, at Pierre, South Dakota, relating to the
amendment of Rule IV of the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Qualifications Commission
(Appendix to SDCL 16-1A), and the Court having considered the proposed amendment, the
correspondence and oral presentations relating thereto, if any, and being fully advised in the
premises, now, therefore, it is
ORDERED that Rule IV of the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Qualifications
Commission (Appendix to SDCL 16-1A) be and it is hereby amended to read in its entirety as
follows:
IV. JUDICIAL ELECTIONS
1. Special Committee - Proceedings and Authority.
In every year in which a circuit court judicial election is held in this State and at
such other times as the Commission may deem appropriate, a Special Committee
on Judicial Election Campaign Intervention ("Special Committee") shall be created
whose responsibility shall be to issue advisory opinions and to deal expeditiously
with allegations of ethical misconduct in campaigns for judicial office. The
membership of such committee shall consist of five (5) members. Two (2) members
shall be appointed by the Chair of the Commission and shall be former members of
the Commission. Two (2) members shall be appointed by the Chairperson of the
Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of South Dakota ("the Board") and shall be
former members of the Board. The fifth member shall be appointed by the Chief
Justice and shall be a retired circuit court judge or a retired Supreme Court Justice.
Any action taken by the Special Committee shall require a majority vote. The
objective of the Special Committee shall be to alleviate unethical and unfair
campaign practices in judicial elections, and to that end, the Special Committee shall
have the following authority:
(a) Within ten (10) days of the effective date of this rule or within the ten (10)
days after formally announcing and/or officially qualifying for election or
re-election to any judicial office in this State (whichever is earliest), all
candidates, including incumbent judges, shall forward written notice of such
candidacy, together with an appropriate mailing address, to the
Commission. Upon receipt of such notice, the Special Committee shall
cause to be distributed to all such candidates by certified mail-return receipt
requested copies of the following: Canon 5 of the Code of Judicial Conduct;
this Rule 30; summaries of any previous opinions issued by the Special
Committee, or the Supreme Court of South Dakota, which relate in any way
to campaign conduct and practices; and a form acknowledgment which each
candidate shall promptly return to the Commission and therein certify that
he/she has read and understands the materials forwarded and agrees to be
bound by such standards during the course of the campaign. A failure to
comply with this section shall constitute a per se violation of this Rule
authorizing the Commission to immediately publicize such failure to all
candidates in such race and to all appropriate media outlets. In the event of
a question relating to conduct during a judicial campaign, judicial candidates
are encouraged to seek an opinion from the Special Committee before such
conduct occurs.
(b) Opinions as to the propriety of any act or conduct and the construction or
application of Canon 5 may be provided by the Special Committee upon
request from any judicial candidate. If the Special Committee finds the
question of limited significance, it may provide an informal opinion to the
questioner. If, however, it finds the questions of sufficient general interest
and importance, it may render a formal opinion, in which event it shall cause
the opinion to be published in complete or synopsis form. Furthermore, the
Special Committee may issue formal opinions on its own motion under such
circumstances, as it finds appropriate. The Special Committee may decline
to issue an opinion when a majority of the Special Committee members
determine that it would be inadvisable to respond to the request and to have
so confirmed in writing their reasoning to the person who requested the
opinion. All formal opinions of the Special Committee shall be filed with the
Supreme Court and shall be a matter of public record except for the names
of the persons involved, which shall be excised.
Both formal and informal opinions shall be advisory only; however, the
Commission, the Board and the Supreme Court shall consider reliance by
a judicial candidate upon the Special Committee opinion.
(c) Upon receipt of a complaint or otherwise receiving information facially
indicating a violation by a judicial candidate of any provision of Canon 5 of
the South Dakota Judicial Code of Conduct during the course of a campaign
for judicial office, the secretary or chair of the Commission shall
immediately forward a copy of the same by facsimile, if available, and U.S.
mail to the Special Committee members and said Committee shall:
(1) seek, from the complainant and/or the subject of the complaint, such
further information on the allegations of the complaint as it deems
necessary;
(2) conduct such additional investigation as the Committee may deem
necessary;
(3) determine whether the allegations of the complaint warrant speedy
intervention and, if so, immediately issue a confidential
cease-and-desist request to the candidate and/or organization
believed to be engaging in unethical and/or unfair campaign
practices. If the Committee determines that the unethical and/or
unfair campaign practice is of a serious and damaging nature, the
Committee may, in its discretion, disregard the issuance of a cease-
and-desist request and immediately impose the appropriate sanction
authorized by the provisions of paragraph (4)(i) and (ii), hereafter
described. If the allegations of the complaint do not warrant
intervention, the Committee shall dismiss the same and so notify the
complaining party.
(4) if a cease-and-desist request is disregarded or if the unethical or
unfair campaign practices otherwise continue, the Committee is
further authorized:
(i) to immediately release to all appropriate media outlets, as
well as the complaining party and the person and/or
organization complained against, a public statement setting
out the violations believed to exist. In the event that the
violations have continued after the imposition of the cease-
and desist-request, the media release shall also include a
statement that the candidate and/or organization has failed
to honor the cease-and-desist request.
(ii) to refer the matter to the full Commission or the Board for
such action as may be appropriate under the applicable rules.
(d) All proceedings under this Rule shall be informal and non-adversarial, and
the Special Committee shall act on all complaints within ten (10) days of
receipt, either in person; by facsimile, by U.S. mail; or by telephone.
(e) Except as hereinabove specifically authorized, the proceedings of the
Special Committee shall remain confidential as provided in Commission
Rule III 1., and in no event shall the Special Committee have the authority
to institute disciplinary action against any candidate for judicial office, which
power is specifically reserved to the full Commission or the Board under
applicable rules.
(f) The Committee shall after conclusion of the election distribute to the
Commission and the Board copies of all complaints and all proceedings
relating thereto.
2. Applicability of Code of Judicial Conduct and Guidelines.
These guidelines shall apply to all candidates for judicial office, be they incumbent
judges or not, and to the families and campaign/solicitation committees of all
candidates.
Every person who files a petition to have their name placed on the ballot as a
candidate for judicial office and the judicial candidate's election committee
chairperson, shall by May 15th of the year in which the petition was filed complete
a two-hour course on campaign practices, finance, and ethics sponsored and
approved by the Judicial Qualifications Commission. Within thirty days of
completing the course, the candidate shall certify to Commission that he or she has
completed the course and understands fully the requirements of South Dakota law
and the Code of Judicial Conduct concerning campaign practices for judicial office.
A person subject purely to retention election or a circuit court candidate who has
no opposition is exempt from application of this rule.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this rule shall become effective July 1, 2000.
DATED at Pierre, South Dakota, this 10th day of March, 2000.