OPINION: Honoring Alaska Constitution Day

If you’re like me, you occasionally find yourself defending why Alaska is the best state to friends and family that live Outside. You may point to our state’s natural beauty, our people and communities, or our lifestyle and freedoms.

I’m here to offer you one more piece of evidence: Alaska arguably has the best judicial system in the country.

I’ve worked in our judicial system for more than four decades, including as attorney general under Gov. Sean Parnell. More than other states, our judicial system is designed to ensure that Alaskans get a fair trial, free from the partisan politics that is infecting courts across the country. On this anniversary of the ratification of the Alaska Constitution that established our system, it is worth emphasizing what sets us apart.

Sixty-eight years ago, 55 Alaskans convened to author our state’s Constitution. While there were some lawyers involved, the majority were lay people, not driven by a partisan agenda but committed to listening and learning while drafting the seminal foundational document for our development as a state. They also had the benefit of reviewing the constitutions of the 48 other states and learning from their mistakes.

The result? A system designed to insulate our judicial system from political influence and ensure that judges are selected based on their qualifications rather than politics.

Here’s how it works.

In many states, judges are selected through political campaigns. In my view, this is unwise — we have enough politicians already. Fortunately, Alaska’s system is different. Here, potential judges go through an independent vetting process instead, one which evaluates them based on professional competence, integrity, judicial temperament, fairness, and suitability of experience. After extensive review of their professional performance and public comments, the names of the most qualified applicants are sent to the governor, who then makes an appointment from that vetted list.

After serving on the bench for a period of time, judges who want to remain on the bench stand for retention — which means that their name is placed on the ballot during a general election and Alaska voters have an opportunity to decide whether the judge’s job performance merits keeping that judge on the bench. Judges standing for retention face comprehensive performance evaluations, conducted by the independent and nonpartisan Alaska Judicial Council. The council surveys thousands of individuals who have interacted with the judge in the courtroom, including police and probation officers, court employees, jurors, social workers and every attorney in the state. The council also conducts public hearings where Alaskans have an opportunity to offer testimony about the judge seeking retention.

Ultimately, the public gets the final say — voting whether or not to retain judges based on their public record.

Why is any of this so important to Alaskans? Today, across the Lower 48 – and increasingly in Alaska — millions of dollars of “dark” special interest money is flowing into judicial elections, making courts less and less distinguishable from more partisan branches of government.

Alaskans should be reassured — and proud — that our judicial system is designed to ensure that judges making those decisions will do so based on the rule of law, not partisan politics.

Michael Geraghty is a practicing attorney, former Alaska attorney general, and co-chair of Alaskans for Fair Courts.

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