By Laws
ARTICLE I
PURPOSES OF THE ASSOCIATION
The California Court Commissioners Association, hereinafter referred to as the “Association”, shall be an unincorporated association with the purpose of supporting and promoting the fair and efficient administration of justice and the interests of its members in attaining these goals. It shall serve as the organizational structure for all subordinate judicial officers in the State of California.
ARTICLE II
OFFICERS AND COMMITTEES
The officers of this unincorporated organization shall consist of a President, President-elect, Past President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Representative to the Board of Directors of the California Judges Association. The Secretary and Treasurer will be appointed by the President from the membership and shall serve at the President’s pleasure. With the exception of the Past President, Secretary and Treasurer, officers shall be elected in accordance with the election procedure as hereinafter set forth.
PRESIDENT
The President shall be the principal executive officer of the Association and shall supervise and control all of the business and affairs of the Association. He or she shall preside at all meetings of the members and of the Board of Directors. He or she shall perform all duties incident to the office of the President and such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board of Directors from time to time.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
In the absence, disability or refusal to act of the President, the President-elect shall also have such powers and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by the Board or the bylaws. At the expiration of the President’s term, the President-elect shall become President, without further vote.
PAST PRESIDENT
As long as the Past President is eligible to serve as an officer of the Board, the Past President may assist the President in providing advice and assistance to ensure a smooth transition to the operation of the Association after the new President takes office. With the consent of the President, the Past President may also continue any projects begun, but not completed, during the Past President’s presidency.
SECRETARY
The Secretary shall keep the minutes of the meetings of the Board and the Executive Committee; be the custodian of the Association records; keep a register of the electronic mail address or, if none, the post office address of each member and in general perform all duties incident to the office of Secretary and such other duties as may be assigned by the President or the Board. At the expiration of the Secretary’s term of office, or upon removal, the Secretary shall immediately deliver over to the successor Secretary all books and other property in his or her charge.
TREASURER
The Treasurer shall be the custodian of the Association’s funds. At the end of each fiscal year, and prior to the annual meeting, the Treasurer shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, an annual fiscal report which shall be distributed to the Board. At the expiration of the Treasurer’s term of office, or upon removal, the Treasurer shall immediately deliver over to the successor Treasurer all books, money and other property in his or her charge.
CALIFORNIA JUDGES ASSOCIATION BOARD REPRESENTATIVE
The Association’s representative to the Executive Board of the California Judges Association (CJA) must have been a member of the California Court Commissioners Association Board of Directors for at least one year immediately prior to being elected as the CJA representative. The term of office shall be the term as set forth in the California Judges Association bylaws, which is presently a period of three years. The representative serving from 2019-2022 is from District I or II. Historically the position has alternated between Districts I/II and Districts III/IV. While this is the preferred order of representation it shall not be required following the 2019-2022 term of office. If the representative shall be unable to serve, the vacancy shall be filled by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at a meeting called for that purpose. The Association’s representative to the Executive Board of the California Judges Association shall report to the President and the Board of Directors of the Association, and present to the CJA the position of the Association as directed by the Board of Directors or the Executive Committee.
In order to promote an effective transition, the Association’s representative may remain an ex officio member of the Board of Directors after his or her term ends for whatever period the President deems appropriate.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
There shall be an Executive Committee chaired by the President consisting of the elected officers, the Secretary, Treasurer, the Past President, a representative from any standing committee, and not less than two (2) other directors appointed by the President. Meetings of the Executive Committee shall be held at such times and places as are determined by the President without the necessity of written notice. Unless the Board of Directors shall otherwise provide, the Executive Committee shall represent it in the interim; the acts of the Executive Committee shall be the acts of the Board of Directors. The Executive Committee shall submit a report of all its actions at the next meeting of the Board of Directors or the membership.
OTHER COMMITTEES
The President may appoint other committees as he or she deems appropriate. The President and President-elect shall be ex-officio members of each committee.
ARTICLE III
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors of the California Court Commissioners Association shall consist of up to eighteen (18) elected District Representatives; the President; the President-elect; the CJA Representative; the Secretary; Treasurer; and the immediate Past President. The Board of Directors is vested with the authority to act for and on behalf of the members with respect to any matters affecting the Association as to which members have the power to act, other than the adoption of the amendment to these By-Laws.
The term of each elected member of the Board of Directors shall be two years. All members of the Board of Directors must be current dues paying members of this Association and the California Judges Association. The Board of Directors shall serve as the governing body of this Association, and, except for the President, each member of the Board shall have equal voting authority on any issue presented for vote to the Board. The President shall vote only in the event of a tie.
Meetings of said Board shall be at the call of the President upon at least 10 days’ notice. Meetings shall be open to any Association member. A quorum of 51% of the then sitting Board of Directors shall be necessary to conduct the business of the Board. Action by the Board shall be by a majority of the Directors present at a meeting duly held at which a quorum is present, unless a greater number is required by law or these Bylaws. Voting may not be by written proxy except as hereinafter provided.
Members from the following four geographic districts shall be represented by the following number of directors:
I. San Francisco Bay Area (the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, Marin, Contra Costa, San Mateo and Santa Clara) - 3
II. Northern and central California (all counties other than those included in I, III, IV) – 3
III. Southern California (the counties of Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Imperial, Santa Barbara and Ventura) – 3
IV. Los Angeles Superior Court – 9
If a District Representative is no longer eligible to serve on the Board, or has resigned his or her position on the Board, then such position shall be declared vacant effective the last date of eligibility. In that event, the President shall thereupon appoint a member from the District in which the vacancy occurred, with the concurrence of the Board of Directors, for the unexpired term.
The Board of Directors has the authority to modify the total number of Directors up to a total of 18, to reapportion such members among the four districts, or to realign courts among the four districts as needed to assure that Districts represent a fairly equal number of subordinate judicial officers. Any changes made to the number of Directors, reapportionment of members to their Districts, or realignment of courts to other Districts, shall be considered only in even numbered years. Additionally, any such changes must, first, be at a noticed Board meeting by phone, email, or in person, in sufficient time to allow proper solicitations for nominations by district and proper designations on the ballot. Second, any such change must occur before the membership is canvassed to determine those interest in serving as officers and directors, at least 120 days prior to the CJA annual meeting, as more fully set forth in Article VI (Election Procedure). Lastly, any changes shall be approved by a vote of the majority of a quorum of the Board members present.
ARTICLE IV
MEMBERSHIP
Any currently sitting subordinate judicial officer of any court in the State of California shall automatically be a member of the California Court Commissioners Association. A retired subordinate judicial officer may retain active membership status upon payment of dues; and may be a District Representative on the Board of Directors, but not an officer.
ARTICLE V
FEES
The Board of Directors shall each year, by majority vote, determine the appropriate annual fee to be charged members and associate members of the Association for the following year.
ARTICLE VI
ELECTION PROCEDURE
The election of the members of the Board of Directors shall be held each even numbered year. The election of the CJA Representative shall be held every third year with the next election to be held in 2022. In the year 2020 there shall be an election for the office of President-Elect who shall be a member from District I and II. Historically the position of President-Elect has alternated between Districts I/II and III/IV. While this is the preferred order of representation for President-Elect it shall not be required following the 2020 biennial election for the office of President-Elect.
If the President or President-elect shall be unable to serve, a member of the Board Directors shall be elected to fill the vacancy by a majority vote of the Board of Directors present at a noticed meeting for that specific purpose. Written proxies may be used for the purpose of such an election.
The President shall be responsible for conducting the elections in a fair and unbiased manner. The procedure shall be at the discretion of the President except for the following requirements:
At least 120 days before the CJA’s annual meeting in even numbered years, the membership shall be canvassed to determine those interested in serving as officers and directors. The President may utilize a nominating committee to identify additional candidates for officers and directors. Ballots shall then be distributed to each member at least 75 days prior to the annual meeting. The votes must be received within 30 days of these ballots being distributed. If a runoff election is necessary, a second ballot shall be distributed at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting. Thereafter, votes must be received within 15 days of the second ballot being distributed. All votes shall be final at least 15 days prior to the annual meeting.
Each member shall vote for only one candidate for the office of President-elect and CJA Representative. Each member shall vote for not more than the number of candidates specified on the ballot for the District of which he or she is a member. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected to the Board of Directors from that District. In the event of a tie vote for director position, which tie creates too many representatives from a particular district, the names of the tied candidates shall be placed on a second ballot and submitted to each member in that district who shall vote for not more than the number of candidates specified on the ballot. The distribution of this runoff ballot shall conform to the procedures and time frames for a runoff election outlined above.
If any candidate for the office of President-elect or CJA Representative receives a majority of the votes cast, he or she shall be elected to such office for the ensuing term, to hold office until a successor is elected. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff election shall be held between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes. The distribution of this runoff ballot shall conform to the procedures and time frames for a runoff election outlined above.
ARTICLE VII
ASSOCIATION MEETINGS
An annual business meeting of the Association shall be held each year on or about the date and at the location of the annual meeting of the California Judges Association. Special meetings may be called at the time and place designated by the President with the concurrence of the Board of Directors. Each member shall be given 30 days’ notice of each meeting.
Meetings will be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of Order. A majority vote of those present shall prevail on all items of business before the meeting. Voting may not be by written proxy.
Ten Association members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at any membership meeting.
ARTICLE VIII
ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT PROCEDURE
The Bylaws may be amended or repealed by a two-thirds vote of the members present at any annual meeting of the Association, providing the proposed change or repeal has been presented to the Board of Directors at least 60 days prior to the annual meeting.
The text of the proposed Amended By Laws shall be distributed to all the members at least 30 days prior to the annual meeting.
ARTICLE IX
NOTICE FOR MEETINGS AND ELECTIONS
Notice of meetings (when required), voting by the members of the Board of Directors, distribution of ballots and voting under Article VI, and the distribution of any other materials to members may be accomplished through the use of electronic mail, facsimile transmission, phone, public or private mail delivery, or any other cost effective and efficient means.
The above Bylaws with amendments are adopted October 3, 2020