2005 Idaho Code - 7-1505 — QUALIFICATIONS, APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION OF EVALUATORS

                                   TITLE  7
                             SPECIAL PROCEEDINGS
                                  CHAPTER 15
                         SMALL LAWSUIT RESOLUTION ACT
    7-1505.  QUALIFICATIONS, APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION OF EVALUATORS. (1)
Any individual desiring to be on a list of private civil litigation evaluators
under this chapter shall submit a request to the supreme court identifying
each county in which the individual wishes to serve. The task of acting as an
evaluator under this chapter shall be a service to the judiciary and the legal
profession. The legislature encourages members of the bar to accept up to two
(2) appointments under this chapter on a pro bono basis each year.
    (2)  To be listed as a private civil litigation evaluator, a person must
currently be an active member of the Idaho state bar association and have had
such membership for a minimum of seven (7) years or be a retired or senior
judge. To the extent it deems them necessary, the supreme court may prescribe
by rule additional qualifications for civil litigation evaluators in some or
all cases with the purpose of providing the largest pool of individuals with
the knowledge and experience to fairly determine claims under this chapter at
minimal or no cost to litigants.
    (3)  Upon appointment in each case, the evaluator must sign an oath to
fulfill the duties of the office, including the impartial, unbiased and timely
discharge of those duties. He must also affirmatively state that he has no
conflict of interest or, in the alternative, make a written disclosure of any
conflict of interest to the parties, which they may waive by filing a written
consent with the evaluator. Challenges to the service of an evaluator shall be
made by motion to the trial court and shall be heard expeditiously. Evaluators
may decline an appointment. The trial court may also release evaluators from
an appointment for good cause. If an evaluator declines or is released from
service, a new list shall be requested from the clerk for selection of an
evaluator.
    (4)  Evaluators shall submit their rates of hourly compensation, if any,
to the supreme court when submitting their request to be on the list of civil
litigation evaluators. The clerk shall include the rate of hourly
compensation, if any, for each evaluator in the list of names submitted to the
parties. The parties shall each pay an equal portion of a private evaluator's
fee if any is charged as well as an equal portion of any actual costs incurred
by the private  evaluator. Individuals who wish to serve as private civil
litigation evaluators under this chapter other than on a pro bono basis shall
agree to serve as an evaluator in exchange for a fee not to exceed one
thousand dollars ($1,000) unless the parties agree otherwise. Provided
however, sitting or senior judges appointed as evaluators by the supreme court
or administrative judge as part of their judicial service shall not be
compensated by the parties. Retired or senior judges selected by the parties
from the roster of private civil litigation evaluators maintained by the
supreme court through the administrative director of the courts shall be
compensated by the parties in accordance with this subsection.