HB166 Alabama 2017 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Paul Beckman

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2017

Title

Courts, require Judicial Inquiry Commission to submit complaints against Justices of the Supreme Court or Judges on the Court of Criminal or Civil Appeals to the House Judiciary Committee for a decision of further adjudication, const. amend.

Summary

Constitutional amendment to require complaints about Supreme Court Justices and Court of Appeals judges to be filed with the House Judiciary Committee to determine impeachment or trial.

What This Bill Does

If enacted, complaints about ethics violations or misconduct by high court officials would go to the House Judiciary Committee for a decision on whether to impeach or have the case heard by the appropriate appellate court. The House Judiciary Committee would decide whether to proceed with impeachment by the Legislature or to have the case tried by the Court of Criminal Appeals (for Supreme Court Justices) or by the Court of Civil Appeals (for Court of Civil Appeals judges). The Supreme Court would adopt rules for removal procedures and the Legislature would adopt rules for impeachment procedures. The Judicial Inquiry Commission would continue to investigate but would file these specific complaints with the House Committee; non-high-official judges would continue to follow the existing process.

Who It Affects

• Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court and Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals or Court of Civil Appeals: their complaints for ethics violations, misconduct, or inability to perform duties would be filed with the House Judiciary Committee and could lead to impeachment by the Legislature or trial by the designated court.
• Judicial Inquiry Commission and House Judiciary Committee: the Commission would file certain complaints with the House Committee instead of the Court of the Judiciary for these high officials, shifting the initial handling and determinations to the House panel.
• Supreme Court and Legislature: they would gain authority to set removal and impeachment rules under this amendment.

Key Provisions

• Requires complaints about Justices of the Alabama Supreme Court or Judges of the Court of Criminal Appeals or the Court of Civil Appeals to be filed with the House Judiciary Committee for a determination on impeachment or trial by the appropriate court.
• The House Judiciary Committee would determine whether to proceed with impeachment in the Legislature or to have the case heard by the Court of Criminal Appeals (for Supreme Court Justices) or by the Court of Civil Appeals (for Court of Civil Appeals judges).
• The Supreme Court shall adopt rules governing removal procedures; the Legislature shall adopt rules governing impeachment procedures.
• The Judicial Inquiry Commission would continue to investigate but must file these specific complaints with the House Judiciary Committee; other judges would continue under the existing process.
• Section 158 outlines impeachment procedures, including verification by at least 12 members of the House, two-thirds House approval for articles, and two-thirds Senate approval for conviction; it also preserves confidentiality and prohibits impeachment on charges already under consideration by JIC or Court of the Judiciary.
• No conduct occurring before the amendment’s effective date may be basis for impeachment under the new section, and no same charge may proceed when previously tried or investigated; elections to approve the amendment are required.

AI-generated summary using openai/gpt-5-nano on Feb 24, 2026. May contain errors — refer to the official bill text for accuracy.

Subjects

Constitutional Amendments