Chapter 1 - In General
CHAPTER 1 - IN GENERAL
5-1-101. Qualifications of judges of supreme court and districtcourt.
Noperson shall be eligible for election or appointment to the office of justiceof the supreme court, or to the office of judge of the district court, unlesshe shall possess the qualifications prescribed for such office by theconstitution of the state of Wyoming and shall have practiced law in the stateof Wyoming at least one (1) year immediately preceding his election orappointment.
5-1-102. Terms of judicial nominating commission members; expenses;removal.
(a) The terms of the elected and appointed voting members ofthe judicial nominating commission created by Article 5, Section 4, WyomingConstitution, shall be four (4) years except the initial term for one (1)attorney and one (1) elector shall be two (2) years and the initial term forone (1) attorney and one (1) elector shall be three (3) years. The members ofthe Wyoming state bar initially elected to the commission shall draw lots todetermine the term each shall serve. The governor shall designate whether thelength of the term of electors he initially appoints to the commission shall betwo (2), three (3) or four (4) years. The governor may remove any member heappoints as provided in W.S. 9-1-202.
(b) The members of the judicial nominating commission,including any advisors, shall not receive any fees, salary or othercompensation for services rendered but are entitled to receive per diem andmileage on the same basis and at the same rate as state employees andreimbursement for any other actual and necessary expenses incurred in theperformance of commission duties.
5-1-103. Terms of members of the commission on judicial conduct andethics; removal; expenses.
(a) The terms of members of the commission on judicial conductand ethics shall be those set out in Article 5, Section 6, WyomingConstitution, and the rules adopted by the supreme court as authorized by thatconstitutional provision.
(b) Members of the commission on judicial conduct and ethicsmay be removed in accordance with rules adopted by the supreme court inaccordance with Article 5, Section 6, Wyoming Constitution. Members appointedto the commission by the governor may also be removed in accordance with W.S.9-1-202.
(c) The members of the commission on judicial conduct andethics shall not receive any fees, salary or other compensation for servicesrendered but are entitled to receive per diem and mileage on the same basis andat the same rate as state employees and reimbursement for any other actual andnecessary expenses incurred in the performance of the commission's duties, butin any event such reimbursement shall not exceed funds specificallyappropriated by the legislature for the benefit of the commission.
5-1-104. Retroactive application of provisions as to qualifications.
Thisact shall have no retroactive application, and shall not affect the incumbencyof any present district judge.
5-1-105. Salaries of justices of supreme court and judges of districtcourts.
Subjectto the provisions of article 5, section 17 of the Wyoming constitution asamended, the justices of the supreme court and the judges of the district courtshall receive annual salaries as provided by law which shall be paid in monthlyinstallments at the end of each month, and upon request, the state auditorshall draw warrants upon the state treasurer accordingly, in favor of saidjustices and judges.
5-1-106. Retirement of judges of the supreme court or districtcourts; pension; assignment of retired judges.
(a) A judge of the supreme court or district courts shallretire when he attains the age of seventy (70) years. A judge is eligible forretirement when he has served as a judge of the supreme court, a district courtor both for:
(i) Not less than eighteen (18) years;
(ii) Not less than fifteen (15) years and is sixty-five (65)years of age or more;
(iii) Not less than twelve (12) years and is seventy (70) yearsof age or more;
(iv) Not less than six (6) consecutive years and is sixty-five(65) years of age or more;
(v) Less than six (6) years but continuously from the date ofappointment to the age of seventy (70) years;
(vi) Not less than twelve (12) years and is fifty-five (55)years of age or more;
(vii) Not less than six (6) years and dies in office or isretired by the supreme court for disability.
(b) Retired judges shall receive a maximum lifetime annualpension of fifty percent (50%) of the salary currently authorized by law forjudges of the court from which they retired. The pension of a judge retiringunder paragraph (a)(iv), (v), (vi) or (vii) of this section shall be thatproportion of the maximum allowable pension which the aggregate number of yearsof his judicial service bears to eighteen (18) years. The pension shallincrease or diminish proportionately as salaries of judges of the respectivecourts change. The pension of any judge who retires under paragraph (a)(iv) ofthis section at the age of seventy (70) with not less than six (6) but lessthan twelve (12) years service shall be that proportion of the maximumallowable pension which the aggregate number of years of judicial service bearsto twelve (12) years.
(c) To retire and receive a pension, a judge shall notify inwriting the governor and the state auditor the date he elects to retire andshall furnish with the notice an affidavit showing the date and place of hisbirth and his service as a judge entitling him to a pension, provided, that ajudge whose service is terminated by expiration of the term for which he iselected or appointed and whose service is such as to otherwise entitle him toreceive the pension herein provided, shall be deemed to have retired.
(d) This section shall apply to judges who were appointed priorto July 1, 1998 and to judges who have retired and are receiving benefits underthis section. Judicial retirement for justices and judges appointed to thebench on or after July 1, 1998 is provided pursuant to W.S. 9-3-701 through9-3-713.
(e) Any judge who is otherwise eligible to receive a pensionmay receive the benefits accorded by this section if he retires on the day ofattainment of the age of seventy (70) years, or prior thereto, provided that ifhe is a judge on the effective date of this act, he may complete the presentterm for which he was elected or appointed without the loss of any pensionbenefits accorded by this section.
(f) Any justice of the supreme court or district court judge ofthis state, who has retired pursuant to the provisions of this section, and whois not practicing law, may, notwithstanding his retirement, be called upon,with his consent, at the request of a district court judge, with the consent ofthe chief justice, or by the chief justice, and assigned to service on anycourt. A retired justice or judge shall receive as a salary during any periodof assignment an amount equal to the current compensation of a judge of thecourt to which he is assigned. The salary received by a retired justice orjudge during any period of assignment shall not affect the receipt of anyretirement allowance received by the retired justice or judge during the periodof assignment. Assignments of retired justices or judges under this sectionshall only be made in a manner that does not jeopardize the qualified status ofstate retirement plans established by the Wyoming legislature. When called toserve, a retired judge or justice shall receive the same per diem and travelallowances as allowed active judges or justices. Per diem, allowances andcompensation shall be paid from the contingent fund of the court to which thejudge or justice is assigned.
(g) In lieu of the service retirement allowances provided insubsection (b) of this section, any judge specified in subsection (a) of thissection may elect one (1) of the following forms of retirement benefits whichshall be the actuarial equivalent of the allowance to which he would otherwisebe entitled as determined by the actuary for the state retirement system:
(i) A full joint and survivor benefit which provides reducedmonthly service retirement benefit payments during the retired member's lifeand upon his death after retirement continues payments in the same reducedamount to a designated beneficiary during the life of that beneficiary;
(ii) A half joint and survivor benefit which provides reducedmonthly service retirement benefit payments during the retired member's lifeand upon his death after retirement continues payments, in the amount ofone-half (1/2) of such reduced amount, to the designated beneficiary during thelife of that beneficiary.
(h) A judge who is eligible for retirement may elect one (1) ofthe retirement benefit forms in subsection (g) of this section during the timethe judge is serving in office. Payment of the pension or survivor benefitshall commence upon the retirement of the judge or upon the death of the judgewhile serving in office, based on the years of service at retirement or deathin office. If a survivor benefit was elected as provided in paragraph (g) ofthis section by a judge who is no longer in active service and dies beforeretirement, the survivor benefit shall commence upon the earliest date thejudge would have been eligible to retire unless the designated beneficiaryelects a later date.
5-1-107. Personal jurisdiction; service of process outside state.
(a) A Wyoming court may exercise jurisdiction on any basis notinconsistent with the Wyoming or United States constitution.
(b) When the exercise of personal jurisdiction is authorized bythis section, service may be made outside this state and proved according tothe Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure or any order of the court.
5-1-108. Concurrent jurisdiction of the United States over certainlands in Wyoming.
(a) Concurrent jurisdiction over crimes and offenses under thelaws of the state of Wyoming is hereby ceded to the United States over andwithin all the territory dedicated to national park, monument, historic site orpublic recreational purposes included in tracts of land in Wyoming designated as:
(i) Grand Teton National Park;
(ii) John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway;
(iii) Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area;
(iv) Devils Tower National Monument;
(v) Fort Laramie National Historic Site; and
(vi) Fossil Butte National Monument.
(b) The concurrent jurisdiction ceded by subsection (a) of thissection shall be vested upon acceptance by the United States by and through itsappropriate officials, and shall continue so long as the lands within thedesignated areas are dedicated to national park, monument, historic site orpublic recreational purposes.
5-1-109. Deaf and mute persons; rights enumerated.
(a) In all civil or criminal cases in which a deaf or muteperson is a party or in a grand jury proceeding where the person is a witness,the presiding judge shall upon petition appoint a qualified interpreter toassist the court and deaf person during the proceedings. The cost for theinterpreter's services may be assessed as court costs.
(b) When a person who is deaf or mute is arrested for analleged criminal violation, he may request the appointment of an interpreter.Unless the interpreter's services are waived by the deaf or mute person, orunless the interrogation is conducted entirely in writing in the case of a deafor mute person able to read and write, he shall not be required to submit tointerrogation or make a statement unless the interpreter is present.
(c) An interpreter appointed under this section shall serve thedeaf or mute person and the court and shall in no instance offer legal counsel,advice or assistance to the deaf or mute person.
5-1-110. Salaries of judges.
(a) Subject to constitutional and statutory provisionsconcerning when salaries can become effective, judges of the supreme court, districtcourts and circuit courts shall receive the following annual salaries whichshall be paid in equal monthly installments on the last working day of themonth:
(i) Supreme court justices shall receive an annual salary ofone hundred twenty-six thousand five hundred dollars ($126,500.00) commencingJuly 1, 2008 and one hundred thirty-one thousand five hundred dollars($131,500.00) commencing July 1, 2009;
(ii) District court judges shall receive an annual salary of onehundred twenty thousand four hundred dollars ($120,400.00) commencing July 1,2008 and one hundred twenty-five thousand two hundred dollars ($125,200.00)commencing July 1, 2009;
(iii) Circuit court judges shall receive an annual salary ofninety-eight thousand eight hundred dollars ($98,800.00) commencing July 1,2008 and one hundred two thousand eight hundred dollars ($102,800.00)commencing July 1, 2009.
(b) In addition to the salaries provided in subsection (a) ofthis section, the legislature may provide through the budget process salarycost of living increases comparable to the increases provided to other stateemployees. Any such cost of living salary increases shall be specificallystated in a footnote to the budget bill by stating the total appropriationrequired as a result of any such increases along with the new salary amount tobe provided to the supreme court, district court and circuit court. Any salaryincrease under this subsection shall be subject to constitutional and statutoryprovisions concerning when salaries can become effective.
5-1-111. Full faith and credit for tribal acts and records.
(a) The judicial records, orders and judgments of the courts ofthe Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes of the Wind River Reservationshall have the same full faith and credit in the courts of this state as do thejudicial records, orders and judgments of any other governmental entity, unlessat least one (1) of the following conditions is shown not to be met:
(i) The tribal documents meet the authentication requirementsof subsection (b) of this section;
(ii) The court is a court of record;
(iii) The court judgment is a valid judgment; and
(iv) The court certifies that it grants full faith and credit tothe judicial records, orders and judgments of the courts of this state.
(b) To qualify for admission as evidence in the courts of thisstate:
(i) Copies of acts of a tribal legislative body shall beauthenticated in accordance with the laws of the tribes and attested to by theappropriate tribal secretary;
(ii) Copies of records, orders and judgments of a tribal courtshall be authenticated by the attestation of the clerk of the court. The seal,if any, of the court shall be affixed to the attestation.
(c) In determining whether a tribal court is a court of record,the Wyoming court shall determine that:
(i) The court keeps a permanent record of its proceedings;
(ii) Either a transcript or an electronic recording of theproceeding at issue in the court is available;
(iii) Final judgments of the tribal court are reviewable by atribal appellate court; and
(iv) The court has authority to enforce its own orders throughcontempt proceedings.
(d) In determining whether a tribal court judgment is a validjudgment, the Wyoming court on the motion of a party may examine the tribalcourt record to assure that:
(i) The court had jurisdiction of the subject matter and overthe person named in the judgment;
(ii) The judgment is final under the laws of the renderingcourt;
(iii) The judgment was procured without fraud, duress orcoercion;
(iv) The judgment was procured in compliance with proceduresrequired by the rendering court; and
(v) The proceedings of the court comply with the Indian CivilRights Act of 1968 under 25 U.S.C. 1301 to 1341.
(e) No lien or attachment based on a tribal court judgment maybe filed, docketed or recorded in this state against the real or personalproperty of any person unless the judgment has been filed following theprocedures set forth in W.S. 1-17-701 et seq.
(f) This section shall not apply to the Tribal Water Code norany official documents, public acts, records or proceedings of the EasternShoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes related to water rights or theadministration of water laws.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be deemed or construed toexpand or limit the jurisdiction either of the state of Wyoming or the EasternShoshone or Northern Arapaho Tribes.