§ 4. a. The state shall be divided into four judicial departments. The\nfirst department shall consist of the counties within the first judicial\ndistrict of the state. The second department shall consist of the\ncounties within the second, ninth, tenth and eleventh judicial districts\nof the state. The third department shall consist of the counties within\nthe third, fourth and sixth judicial districts of the state. The fourth\ndepartment shall consist of the counties within the fifth, seventh and\neighth judicial districts of the state. Each department shall be bounded\nby the lines of judicial districts. Once every ten years the legislature\nmay alter the boundaries of the judicial departments, but without\nchanging the number thereof.\n b. The appellate divisions of the supreme court are continued, and\nshall consist of seven justices of the supreme court in each of the\nfirst and second departments, and five justices in each of the other\ndepartments. In each appellate division, four justices shall constitute\na quorum, and the concurrence of three shall be necessary to a decision.\nNo more than five justices shall sit in any case.\n c. The governor shall designate the presiding justice of each\nappellate division, who shall act as such during his or her term of\noffice and shall be a resident of the department. The other justices of\nthe appellate divisions shall be designated by the governor, from all\nthe justices elected to the supreme court, for terms of five years or\nthe unexpired portions of their respective terms of office, if less than\nfive years.\n d. The justices heretofore designated shall continue to sit in the\nappellate divisions until the terms of their respective designations\nshall expire. From time to time as the terms of the designations expire,\nor vacancies occur, the governor shall make new designations. The\ngovernor may also, on request of any appellate division, make temporary\ndesignations in case of the absence or inability to act of any justice\nin such appellate division, for service only during such absence or\ninability to act.\n e. In case any appellate division shall certify to the governor that\none or more additional justices are needed for the speedy disposition of\nthe business before it, the governor may designate an additional justice\nor additional justices; but when the need for such additional justice or\njustices shall no longer exist, the appellate division shall so certify\nto the governor, and thereupon service under such designation or\ndesignations shall cease.\n f. A majority of the justices designated to sit in any appellate\ndivision shall at all times be residents of the department.\n g. Whenever the appellate division in any department shall be unable\nto dispose of its business within a reasonable time, a majority of the\npresiding justices of the several departments, at a meeting called by\nthe presiding justice of the department in arrears, may transfer any\npending appeals from such department to any other department for hearing\nand determination.\n h. A justice of the appellate division of the supreme court in any\ndepartment may be temporarily designated by the presiding justice of his\nor her department to the appellate division in another judicial\ndepartment upon agreement by the presiding justices of the appellate\ndivision of the departments concerned.\n i. In the event that the disqualification, absence or inability to act\nof justices in any appellate division prevents there being a quorum of\njustices qualified to hear an appeal, the justices qualified to hear the\nappeal may transfer it to the appellate division in another department\nfor hearing and determination. In the event that the justices in any\nappellate division qualified to hear an appeal are equally divided, said\njustices may transfer the appeal to the appellate division in another\ndepartment for hearing and determination. Each appellate division shall\nhave power to appoint and
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