ACT CONTINUING AND ENLARGING SUPREME COURT COMMISSION [From Chapter 87, pages 113-115, Session Laws 1915, effective March 5, 1915.] SECTION 1. The Governor is hereby authorized to appoint, by and with the consent and approval of the Supreme Court, entered of record upon its journals, nine persons possessing qualifications of judges of the Supreme Court, as Supreme Court Commissioners, to assist the Supreme Court in disposing of the causes accumulated and being filed in said court, "one of said commissioners to be selected from each Supreme Court judicial district and four to be selected from the state at large." Said commissioners shall be divided into groups of three each and shall be designated as Divisions One, Two, and Three. The court shall designate the division to which each commissioner shall be assigned, and may change such assignments whenever the public interest may be better served thereby. Each commissioner shall hold his office until the last day of January, 1917, and shall be paid as compensation the sum of $3,000.00 per annum payable monthly. Each commissioner shall, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, take and subscribe the oath required of the judges of the Supreme Court and file the same in the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court; vacancies occurring in the office of Supreme Court Commissioners shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. SEC. 2. The Governor is further authorized at any time when in his judgment the public interest will warrant it, the Supreme Court concurring therein, to designate not more than nine district judges to act as Supreme Court Commissioners for a period of not less than four months at a time. Such district judges, when so assigned, shall be by the Supreme Court assigned to duty as such commissioners, and said district judges acting as Supreme Court Commissioners, shall be divided. into groups of three each by the Supreme Court, and each group shall constitute a separate division. No cause shall be referred to any division which originated in or was tried in the district of either of said judges, constituting any such division. Such judges, when so assigned, shall possess and exercise the same powers and duties and be governed by the same rules and regulations as other commissioners authorized by this act, and shall be paid in addition to their salaries as district judges, the sum of two dollars per day while acting as commis vi ACT ENLARGING SUPREME COURT COMMISSION sioners, which shall be in lieu of expenses now authorized by law while serving outside of their district. SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of such Supreme Court Commissioners, under the orders and direction of, and subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by, the Supreme Court, to assist the Supreme Court in disposing of the causes now pending or hereafter filed in said court. The Supreme Court shall from time to time assign to each division of the commissioners a sufficient number of causes to keep them employed. The commissioners may hear arguments, examine briefs and records, pass upon motions, and shall in the causes assigned to them, prepare and submit to the Supreme Court opinions in writing stating their findings and conclusions, and shall make recommendations to the court. The Supreme Court shall examine each such cause and opinion reported on by the commissioners, and may adopt, reject, or modify the same, or any cause may be remanded to the same or any other division of the commissioners for further investigation and report. The Supreme Court shall, in each cause returned to it by the commissioners with an opinion, when finally approved by the court, render such judgment as shall in the judgment of the court be appropriate and just. SEC. 6. The commissioners herein provided for shall be subject to removal at any time by the Governor. |