A national nonprofit legal watchdog organization has issued a warning about the fact that complaints against Alaska’s magistrate judges are not screened by an independent body, but by the same judges who regularly oversee their work and collaborate with them.
Published on Nov. 26, a report from Fix the Court, calls the arrangement “a troubling gap of oversight.”
It notes that complaints against magistrates cannot be filed directly with the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct – which enjoys independence from the courts and is comprised of a combination of judges, attorneys and public appointees – but must be submitted internally to the local presiding or supervising superior court judge.
“Our review of Alaska’s current and proposed Code of Judicial Conduct confirms that magistrate judges are the only judicial officers in the state whose alleged misconduct is filtered through an internal chain of command rather than evaluated by an independent commission,” Fix the Courts stated.
This means that magistrate judges have no independent body to oversee and evaluate complaints.
This lack of independent oversite is compounded by the fact that Alaska magistrates are tasked with a wide range of legal responsibilities, including handling a range of matters from minor offenses like traffic violations and small claims to more complex cases such as felony first appearances, search warrants and domestic violence hearings. In rural areas, they also handle clerical duties and often act as the sole court employee.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
While there are some pending proposed updates regarding court oversight, Fix the Courts has determined that these changes are “mostly cosmetic.”
“That means magistrate judges would remain uniquely shielded from independent oversight, even though they routinely make consequential decisions that affect Alaskans’ lives,” Fix the Courts warns.
It is urging the Alaska Supreme Court to address this loophole by granting the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct explicit authority to accept and investigate complaints against magistrate judges, just as it does for other judicial officers.
“The public deserves a process that is transparent, independent and free from the conflicts inherent in review by peers,” Fix the Courts stated.
TAKING ACTION
— Alaskans can submit comments about proposed changes to the rules on judicial conduct before the Jan. 23 deadline. Comments should be sent to RuleComments@akcourts.gov.
— For more information, click here.
6 Comments
The entire Alaska judiciary is corrupt to the core.
I whole heartedly agree with you Reggie. It’s like we’re living in the late 1800’s in the corrupt outreaches of a territorial government.
If you’re not with us, being on the left for total control of the public, we have no use for you.
People we need to wake up to this.
Well, any conservative who complains about this must do their own internal review: “Did I vote FOR or AGAINST a constitutional convention in 2022? It was the “For” folks who said the the Judicial Council should be scrapped, called for the PFD to be constitutionalized, wanted to overturn RCV, end abortion funding, claim our denied rights as a state. Oh, and who paid for the phony “Save Our Constitution” ads? Who warned us that a con-con would be infiltrated by Outside interests? Wasn’t it George Soros and his coterie of phantom, Outside, Lower 48 and foreign shadow NGO “non-profits”? With great conservatives like Matt Shuckerow doing his bidding? We are bought and paid for by the Deep State. Much of our statehood act was a rigged system, too. Read Article 12, Sec. 12 & 13.
all in the spirit of Thanksgiving of course!
I vote to can every judge at every election YET they still get elected. Our population is particularly brain dead on this subject. When I see career criminals on the street with 20 felony’s to their name or more it causes me heartburn. If a judge releases a criminal and they proceed to do illegal acts again the judge should be held accountable. This is not a game to me.