Appointment and tenure of district judges; per diem district judges

(a) The chief justice of the supreme court, with the consent of the senate, shall appoint district judges. Each judge shall reside in the judicial circuit for which the judge is appointed and shall have been an attorney licensed to practice in all the courts of the State for at least five years. District judges shall hold office for a term of six years and until their successors are appointed and qualified; provided that any judge may be reprimanded, disciplined, suspended with or without salary, relieved, or removed from office for misconduct or disability, as provided by rules adopted by the supreme court. (b) The chief justice shall appoint district judges to serve on a per diem basis and as may be necessary to provide auxiliary judicial functions in the several districts of the State. Per diem district judges may engage in the private practice of law during their term of service, and shall receive per diem compensation for the days on which actual service is rendered based on the monthly rate of compensation paid to a district court judge. For the purpose of determining per diem compensation in this section, a month shall be deemed to consist of twenty-one days.