Concerning judicial branch administration, including mental health advocates, access to and confidentiality of juror information, contracting authority, apportionment of district associate judges, remote testimony and video recordings, and access to criminal history records

Attorneys representing parties to the case are entitled to complete juror questionnaires of jurors and prospective jurors without court order. CONTRACTING AUTHORITY. The bill allows the state court administrator to enter into contracts with vendors that include limitations of liability for the vendors, after considering certain criteria set forth in the bill. However, the bill prohibits limitations of liability for any intentional torts, criminal acts, or fraudulent conduct by the vendor. APPORTIONMENT OF DISTRICT ASSOCIATE JUDGES. The bill provides for a new formula to be prescribed by the Iowa supreme court for apportioning district associate judges based upon a weighted workload. Under current law, district associate judges are apportioned based upon county population. The bill provides that in judicial election districts that currently have more district associate judges than the new formula prescribes, vacancies shall not be filled, while districts having fewer or the same shall fill vacancies as they occur. In judicial districts that contain more than one judicial election district, a vacancy in a judicial election district shall not be filled if the total number of district associate judges in all judicial election districts within the judicial district equals or exceeds the aggregate number of judgeships to which all of the judicial election districts of the judicial district are authorized. Incumbents shall not be removed because of a reduction in number of authorized judgeships. REMOTE TESTIMONY AND VIDEO RECORDINGS.3205 (certified shorthand reporter audio recordings). The bill provides that a certified shorthand reporter’s audio and video recordings used solely for the purpose of providing a verbatim written transcript of a court proceeding or a proceeding conducted in anticipation of use in a court proceeding shall be considered the personal property and private work product of the certified shorthand reporter, except that an audio or video recording of a certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the presiding judge or chief judge for an in camera review upon court order for good cause shown and an audio or video recording of a certified shorthand reporter shall be provided to the board of examiners of shorthand reporters upon request by the board if a disciplinary proceeding is pending regarding the certified shorthand reporter. For purposes of oral evidence in court trials, the bill defines the term “open court” to include remote testimony of a witness by telephone, videoconference, or other remote means approved by the court. Under current law, all testimony needs to be taken in open court, except for depositions.2d 740 (Iowa 2001), the court held the phrase “in open court” meant physical presence in the courtroom itself, and ruled that allowing telephonic testimony over objection violated the statute. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS. The bill allows criminal history data of an accused person to be disseminated to the attorney of the accused and self-represented litigants without a court order, if the criminal history data is already a part of the prosecution’s file and is subject to a discovery obligation. The bill also allows criminal history data of an accused person, or of a witness, to be disseminated to the attorney of the accused, prosecutors, and self-represented litigants upon court order.