Pennsylvania § 9511 - Organization of panel.

§ 9511. Organization of panel.

(a) Composition and selection.--The Special Independent Prosecutor's Panel shall be composed of one judge of the Superior Court and two judges, which may include senior judges, of the courts of common pleas of the Commonwealth. The members of the panel shall be chosen by lot. The procedure shall be determined and supervised by the Court Administrator of Pennsylvania in the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall disclose to the public the membership of the panel and publish the membership on its publicly accessible Internet website and in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

(b) Term of members.--Each member of the panel shall hold office for a term of three years. Judges who are members of the panel and are required to retire under section 16 of Article V of the Constitution of Pennsylvania shall also vacate their positions on the panel unless assigned under Pa.R.J.A. No. 701 (relating to assignment of judges to courts), No. 702 (relating to divisional assignments of judges), No. 703 (relating to reports of judges), No. 704 (relating to judicial leave), No. 705 (relating to seniority of judges) or No. 706 (relating to determination or selection of Chief Justice and president and administrative judges). A judge who is otherwise removed or suspended from office shall automatically forfeit the position held by that judge on the panel.

(c) Vacancies.--Any vacancy on the panel shall be filled only for the remainder of the three-year period in which the vacancy occurs and in the same manner as initial assignments to the panel were made.

(d) Decisions by majority vote.--All decisions of the panel shall be by majority vote of the members.

(e) Clerk.--The Prothonotary of the Superior Court shall serve as the clerk of the panel and shall provide services as are needed by the panel.

(f) Restriction.--A member of the panel who participated in a function conferred on the panel under this chapter involving an independent counsel shall not be eligible to participate in any judicial or disciplinary proceeding concerning a matter which involves the independent counsel and which involves the exercise of the independent counsel's official duties, notwithstanding whether the independent counsel is still serving in that office.