(a) Each nomination made by the Governor to the General Assembly for the Chief Justice or a judge of the Supreme Court, Appellate Court or Superior Court shall be referred, without debate, to the committee on the judiciary, which shall report thereon within thirty legislative days from the time of reference, but no later than seven legislative days before the adjourning of the General Assembly.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of section 4-19, no vacancy in the position of Chief Justice or judge of the Supreme Court, Appellate Court or Superior Court shall be filled by the Governor when the General Assembly is not in session unless, prior to such filling, the Governor submits the name of the proposed vacancy appointee to the committee on the judiciary. Within forty-five days, the committee on the judiciary may, upon the call of either chairman, hold a special meeting for the purpose of approving or disapproving such proposed vacancy appointee by majority vote. The Governor shall not administer the oath of office to such proposed vacancy appointee until the committee has approved such proposed vacancy appointee. If the committee determines that it cannot complete its investigation and act on such proposed vacancy appointee within such forty-five-day period, it may extend such period by an additional fifteen days. The committee shall notify the Governor in writing of any such extension. Failure of the committee to act on such proposed vacancy appointee within such forty-five-day period or any fifteen-day extension period shall be deemed to be an approval.

(c) Prior to a public hearing on a judicial nomination, the judiciary committee may employ a person to investigate, at the request of the cochairpersons of said committee, any judicial nominee with respect to the suitability of such nominee for judicial office. Such investigator shall report his findings to said committee and any such report shall be confidential and shall not be subject to public disclosure. Such person shall receive such compensation as may be fixed by the Joint Committee on Legislative Management for each day he is engaged in his duties as an investigator.

(1949 Rev., S. 71; September, 1950, S. 21d; 1959, P.A. 28, S. 45; 1969, P.A. 403, S. 1; 1971, P.A. 280; P.A. 74-183, S. 3, 291; P.A. 76-436, S. 352, 681; P.A. 83-353, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29, S. 63, 82; P.A. 85-503, S. 1, 3; P.A. 88-84.)

History: 1959 act added circuit court judges to section; 1969 act changed provisions for judiciary committee's reporting on nominations; 1971 act deleted tabling and printing requirement for nominations; P.A. 74-183 included nominations for chief justice and chief court administrator, deleted reference to circuit court and added juvenile court; P.A. 76-436 deleted references to the chief court administrator, court of common pleas and juvenile court, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 83-353 added Subsec. (b) re the procedure for the nomination and appointment of judges while the general assembly is not in session; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-29 included reference to appellate court in Subsec. (a); P.A. 85-503 added Subsec. (c) re investigation of judicial nominee by judiciary committee, employment and compensation of investigator and confidential report to committee; P.A. 88-84 amended Subsec. (b) to increase from 10 to 45 days the time limitation on the judiciary committee to approve or disapprove a proposed vacancy appointee, to authorize the committee to extend such 45-day period by an additional 15 days when it cannot complete its investigation and act within such period, to require the committee to notify the governor in writing of any such extension, to provide that failure of the committee to act within any extension period shall be deemed to be an approval, and to prohibit the governor administering the oath of office to a proposed vacancy appointee until approval by the committee.

See Sec. 4-2 re referral of judicial nominations to committee on the judiciary.