Rule 3 Chairman of Commission and Contact with Applicants

The chairman shall preside at any meeting at which he or she is present, and shall be either the chief justice or a justice of the Supreme Court designated by the chief justice to act as chairman. Commission staff, the chairman or the chairman’s designee shall conduct all communications with an applicant about the application or the process. Except as required to conduct due diligence, individual commission members shall avoid substantive communication with applicants from the time the application is submitted until completion of the final vote on the nomination. No commission member shall act as a reference for any applicant.