Greetings Alaskans!

As many of you know, the rule of law plays a critical role in the daily lives of every Alaskan – whether or not all Alaskans are aware of it. Elected officials enact the laws that govern all manner of issues affecting the lives of Alaskans, but it is Alaska’s judges who have the responsibility to hold all of us – elected officials included – accountable to those laws. To accomplish this responsibility, judges have a duty of loyalty to the law. Asking them to be loyal to anything or anyone else subverts their responsibilities and ultimately subverts the rule of law.

The preamble to Alaska’s Code of Judicial Conduct underscores this important principle:

“The role of the judiciary is central to American concepts of justice and the rule of law…”

Accordingly, Canon 1 of Alaska’s Judicial Code requires each judge to “uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary. An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to achieving justice in our society.”

These principles, coupled with the judicial “best practice” standards by which the Alaska Judicial Council evaluates judges, make it clear that Alaskans place a very high value on judges whose integrity is above reproach.

Judicial integrity requires that judges remain independent – neither aligned nor owing allegiance to any one or any partisan or other political pressure. A judge with integrity never drifts from their duty of loyalty to the law.

Efforts to subvert the rule of law often manifest themselves in the ongoing and varied attacks on the courts:

  • Governor Dunleavy’s attempts to reduce funding for the state court system to punish a judge who issued a decision that reflected rights expressly established within the Alaska Constitution but did not meet the Governor’s or Legislature’s wishes. More here.
  • Persistent and ongoing efforts to manipulate the selection of judges by politicizing the courts. The Governor’s recent proposal to amend Alaska’s Constitution and eliminate the role of the nonpartisan, independent Alaska Judicial Council in vetting judicial applicants is one such effort. Here. The Council has been integral to this important vetting process for more than 65 years.
  • Persistent, ongoing, direct attacks on judges who issue “unpopular” decisions that reflect a fair reading of the law to be applied to the evidence presented regardless of public opinion. These attacks include threats of bodily harm, impeachment, and attacks on the judges’ integrity. More here.
  • Attacks against lawyers who represent clients who might be unpopular with a particular group.

Why does this matter? All of us are experiencing a new environment that inverts the traditional notion of loyalty to duty to the law over loyalty to anyone or anything else. The new environment is predicated on, and exalts, loyalty to partisan politics over loyalty to duty to the law. It specifically exalts an implied or express loyalty to partisanship over professional duties and responsibilities. One example: the Governor introduced a bill that would require every judicial applicant to provide information about their “beliefs.” A judge’s beliefs – other than their belief in the rule of law – should not ever be considered in making judicial appointments.

Alaskans need – and want – a justice system that exalts the rule of law, and that demands judicial loyalty to the law. Any effort to subvert a judge’s loyalty to their professional duties will unavoidably interfere with – and potentially obstruct – Alaskans’ access to justice.

Any expectation of loyalty to something or someone other than judicial responsibilities and duties to follow the law will interfere with the independence of the judge – and thus interfere with the judge’s integrity and the administration of justice. As one of Alaska’s Constitutional framers so aptly noted 68 years ago:

[A]ll of us here want an independent judiciary… that will not be swayed by the public will at any particular moment, a judiciary that will not be subject to political pressure, a judiciary that will not be subject to pressure from the executive branch of government. – Delegate Edward Davis

The judicial branch of Alaska’s government is the last line of defense to protect Alaskans against infringement upon their rights.

Alaskans for Fair Courts asks you to support judicial integrity and judicial independence – by supporting our work to help all Alaskans understand the judiciary’s important role in their lives. We cannot do this work without you.

-Alaskans for Fair Courts