According to Bethel's KYUK-Radio, the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct has recommended that Bethel District Court Judge Dennis Cummings be permanently removed from the bench.
It is the first time a recommendation for such a severe judicial reprimand has been made in state history.
Members of the commission agreed unanimously on March 16 to recommend the most severe sanction possible against Judge Cummings. The recommendation was made public April 3 when it was sent to the Alaska Supreme Court.
The commission found that Cummings twice told a prosecutor off-record to look at an opinion favorable to the prosecution's case. Speaking with one side of a trial off-record is against Alaska's Judicial Code.
In 2009, Cummings was found guilty of the same violation. It was determined that he passed notes in court to the prosecution, a violation for which he was suspended without pay for three months.
Cummings is scheduled to retire this month, and the outcome of the current proceedings against him have an uncertain timetable.
Marla Greenstein, the commission's executive director said, "the court typically considers these types of filings on a fairly expedited basis."
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