R-06-0038 Rules 111,28 and 31.26 Rules of the Supreme Court
These comments are posted by John C. Gemmill, Chief Judge, Division One, Arizona Court of Appeals, State Courts Building, 1501 West Washington, Phoenix AZ 85007, 602 542-4828,
[email protected]. These are my own comments, and are not made on behalf of anyone else.
Judge Patricia Norris of our court has filed an opposition to this pending Petition which presumably will be posted to this website in due course. Because I agree with the comments and concerns expressed by Judge Norris, I join her and others in urging the Arizona Supreme Court to deny this Petition. I also offer the following additional comments. First, if the Supreme Court concludes that the Court of Appeals is not publishing enough of its decisions, the Supreme Court may consider revising the criteria for Opinions set forth in the rules. Second, to the extent there may be a perceived issue regarding accountability and public accessibility, both Divisions of the Court of Appeals are (as noted by Judge Norris) planning later this year to begin posting new Memorandum Decisions on their respective websites for a limited period of time. Third, if the Supreme Court perceives a need for litigants to cite our Memorandum Decisions, that issue will reportedly be raised by a Petition for rules changes to be filed in the near future by the State Bar, and the Supreme Court may consider the issue of “cite-ability” at that time. Fourth, although I appreciate many of the concerns raised by Mr. Coffinger and believe that the discussion of these issues is important and constructive overall, the particular rules changes proposed in the pending Petition are not, in my view, necessary and appropriate at this time.
Thank you.
John Gemmill