The Council nominates candidates for judgeships and the State public defender's office, evaluates the performance of all judges and justices standing for retention elections, and conducts studies and recommends improvements in the administration of justice. The Council nominated candidates for 14 judicial vacancies in 1995 and 1996. It continued to use the selection procedures developed in the past 2 decades. The Council determined that all 13 judges standing for retention in 1996 were qualified. Its reports and recommendations focused on Rule of Civil Procedure 82, which permits the prevailing party to ask the court to award partial payment of its attorneys' fees; cases involving children in need of aid; mediator selection guidelines; guide to the criminal justice system for use by the public, media, schools, and advocacy groups; a survey on court domestic violence training; the appellate case management system; tort reform; and other topics. Appended background information, tables, and figures