Judicial Retention

Alaska’s Integrity-Based System Guarantees High-Quality Judges

What Is Retention?

Once judges have been appointed by the governor and are on the court, the Alaska Constitution requires them to appear on the ballot periodically in what are known as “retention elections.” Retention elections offer Alaskan voters an opportunity to decide how well a judge is performing their job and whether that judge should remain on the court. In these elections, judges do not “run” against other judicial candidates – they are running against themselves.

In order to offer Alaskans sufficient information to decide whether to retain a judge who is on the ballot, the Alaska Constitution established the Alaska Judicial Council, which conducts comprehensive performance evaluations of state judges who are eligible to stand for retention. These evaluations are available to the public here, and here.

For more information on Public Retention Vote, check out this 2-minute video:

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What Is The Alaska Judicial Council?

The Alaska Judicial Council is an independent, nonpartisan, public commission comprised of seven individuals:

Three members are elected by members of the Alaska Bar Association from different geographic regions throughout Alaska and are appointed by the board of governors of the Alaska Bar Association
The other three members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Alaska State Legislature
The Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court serves as the seventh member of the Council, but votes only in rare circumstances, typically when there is a tie vote.

SOURCE: AJC.STATE.AK.US

Retention

While delegates were emphatic about using a merit system for appointing judges to ensure judicial independence, they recognized that they also needed to somehow ensure judicial accountability to Alaska voters. They did so by requiring judges to be placed on a nonpartisan ballot after their first few years on the court, allowing voters to decide whether the judge should remain on the court. As George McLaughlin, chairman of the Constitutional Convention Committee on the Judiciary, explained:

It is the best compromise and the best solution to a vexing problem between those who feel we should have lifetime tenure so the judges can be absolutely independent or whether we should have a short term so the judges could be subject to the popular will. The popular will should be expressed even in the control of the judiciary, but the way to control it is to put the judge on a nonpartisan ballot. . . . He is running against himself, he is not running against someone else.

Statement of George McLaughlin
Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, Alaska Constitutional Convention.

Article IV of the Alaska Constitution provides Alaskans with an opportunity to participate in the evaluation of judges who are up for retention. The Alaska Judicial Council seeks information and input from the public as it conducts a thorough investigation of the judge’s performance by:

surveying every lawyer in the state
surveying all court employees, police officers, social workers, probation officers, and jurors who have appeared in the judge’s court
interviewing litigants who have appeared before the judge in a case
conducting public hearings
analyzing the rates at which the appellate courts affirm the judge’s decisions
analyzing the number of times a party to a case preempts a judge from hearing cases
looking at the timeliness of the judge’s decisions where appropriate, interviewing the judge who is standing for retention

After evaluating all of the information gathered through this rigorous process, the Alaska Judicial Council votes in open session whether or not to recommend the judge for retention. The Judicial Council then publishes this information on its website to provide voters with sufficient information to decide whether or not to retain the judge.

It is worth repeating that when judges appear on the ballot for their retention elections, the elections are nonpartisan and the judge is not running against anyone. A majority of Alaskan voters decide whether a judge will remain on the court.

LEARN MORE ABOUT RETENTION

How do voters evaluate whether a judge should remain on the court?

The Alaska Judicial Council gathers a comprehensive amount of detailed information about every judge who is up for retention by sending surveys to jurors, police officers, probation officers, court staff, lawyers, social services professionals, and litigants who have worked with or appeared before the judge. This evaluation focuses on the judge’s merit or qualifications.

The Judicial Council reviews this information to evaluate each judge’s:

Fairness and impartiality – whether a judge demonstrates fairness and justice and treats everyone equally
Integrity – whether a judge makes decisions based on the law and disregards public criticism or pressure to ignore the law
Temperament – the judge is compassionate, courteous, and is not arrogant
Legal ability – the judge’s knowledge of the law and procedures, ability to communicate and write clearly and precisely
Diligence – the judge is prepared for hearings, issues rulings in a timely manner, and is conscientious.

Source: HTTP://WWW.AJC.STATE.AK.US/

Once evaluations are completed, the Alaska Judicial Council publishes the evaluations on its website. Voters can also find the Judicial Council’s evaluations within Alaska’s Official Election Pamphlet, which are mailed to all Alaska voters prior to the election.