§258 Chief judges; precedence of judges

Summary

The chief judge must be the active judge who became a judge first among those who are 64 years old or younger, have served at least 1 year on the court, and have never been chief judge. If no one meets those rules, the youngest active judge who is 65 or older and has at least 1 year of service will act as chief judge. If still no one qualifies, the active judge who became a judge first and has not been chief judge will act. Normally the chief judge serves for 7 years and stays on until another judge meets the main qualifications. No one may serve as chief after turning 70 unless no other judge is qualified. The chief judge leads court sessions they attend. Other judges lead by who became a judge first; if two started the same day, the older judge leads. A chief judge may tell the Chief Justice they want to stop doing chief duties and another qualified judge will take over. If the chief judge is temporarily unable to work, the next qualified judge in order of seniority performs the duties.