Dear Friends and Neighbors,
A judge isn’t just someone who just puts the bad guys in jail. A judge decides who gets your grandchildren when your son and his girlfriend are drug addicts or what damages you can receive when a chainsaw happy neighbor cuts down your trees. We want judges who listen closely, are impartial, and know the law.
Our Alaskan constitution was written after years of territorial rule during which our judges were political appointees. Some were good but some were disappointing. Those who drew up our constitution were determined to create a legal system that was merit based, that would be independent and not be swayed by politics or partisanship.
Some people don’t like a merit-based system (more on that later).
And that’s one of my reasons for being against a new constitutional convention which will be on the general ballot this year as it is every ten years.
Article IV in the Alaska Constitution spells out how the court system is organized and also creates the Judicial Council to ensure a merit-based process for selecting judges. The Council is responsible for investigating those attorneys wishing to be judges or judges wishing to move to a higher court.
When there is an opening and an attorney puts in an application to be a judge, the Judicial Council jumps into action. They only want the best of the best to move forward. They research judges and lawyers they worked with, criminal records, community service, life experience and tons more. Judges who want to move up to an opening in a higher court are also reviewed by the police, prosecuting attorneys, and defending attorneys. Court clerks, social workers, jurors and so on. The public can add their observations at public meetings in person or over Zoom. The Council wants to know the judge’s attitude, work habits, courteousness, their compassion, rulings, temperament…all aspects of the person’s career and professional achievements are investigated.
Unlike federal judges’ or the U.S. Supreme Court Justices’ lifetime appointments, our Alaskan constitution allows the voters to dismiss any judge. After a judge is appointed and has served a few years on the bench, the judge’s name is put on the ballot in the next general election with the question whether the judge shall be retained for another term in office. Before the election, the Judicial Council again does an equally inclusive evaluation of the performance of each judge on the ballot. Most of the time, the review finds that the judge is doing a good job and the Council recommends that they be retained.
Some years ago, a judge was going through a mental health issue. He was put on administrative leave, so he continued to receive his salary while doing no work. He couldn’t even be replaced so court cases were not being heard. When it was time to decide about his retention the Judicial Council obviously recommended, he not be retained and publicized their concerns. The judge took out an ad in the Anchorage Daily News saying he was a great judge who was widely respected. Some voters challenged Council getting involved and tried to stop them from publicizing the reasons behind their decision. The judge was not retained, and the Supreme Court affirmed the Council’s right to share their findings.
Even some legislators tried to diminish the effectiveness of our merit-based system. I watched my husband, Rep. Max Gruenberg, fight cuts to the Council’s budget many years in a row. His advocacy helped the other legislators understand the importance of stable funding for the judicial branch of government. Some of his passion wore off on me.
Several Governors fought the process of appointing judges from the list the Council put before them.
When I was teaching students from around the state about the state government, we visited the courts. I was always impressed with the judges for their down-to-earth warmth, their active listening skills, and their caring about every person. Even as defendants lost, the judges I saw left the impression that they were talking to a human being who had made bad choices but was capable of redemption.
Our justice system, as envisioned by those who wrote the constitution, is the best in the country. Some would like us to make selections based on friendships or to those who would support their interests, be it political or financial. Not one word of the court system should be changed, and we shouldn’t open our constitution through a constitutional convention to allow that to happen.
- Kayla
P.S. The Judicial Council is holding a hearing on Wednesday, May 4 at 4:30 p.m. by Zoom to hear from the public about the judges who will be on the ballot in November 2022. You can find the information about the hearing and see a list of judges who will be on the ballot, at https://www.ajc.state.ak.us.
