Greetings from Alaskans for Fair Courts, we hope you are enjoying your summer! By now you are aware that we sued Governor Dunleavy and attorney John W. Wood for what we believe is the governor’s attempt to seat attorney Wood on the Alaska Judicial Council in violation of the plain language of Alaska’s Constitution. At our request, the court is treating this matter expeditiously. Our goal is to resolve this as quickly as possible so that the Judicial Council may get back to its important business without jeopardizing future judicial appointments and judicial decisions by inclusion of an unconstitutionally appointed member on the Council.

Meanwhile, we thought it useful to remind everyone that this is not the governor’s first attempt to ignore the plain, mandatory language of the Alaska Constitution regarding the Alaska Judicial Council’s authority:

  • In 2019 Governor Dunleavy refused to choose from the list of three nominees forwarded by the AJC to fill one of the two vacant Palmer seats on the Superior Court because he wanted to appoint an individual who was not on that list. Here. After meeting with (now retired) Chief Justice Joel Bolger the governor stated that he felt satisfied and filled the second position. Here.
  • In 2021, the Governor again refused to fill a vacant position because the Council had not forwarded the name of a particular individual.  As the Anchorage Daily News noted at the time:

    There’s nothing ambiguous about Article 4, Section 5 of the Alaska Constitution: “The governor shall fill any vacancy in an office of supreme court justice or superior court judge by appointing one of two or more persons nominated by the judicial council.”

    And yet, for a second time in three years, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, who professes to have great respect for the Alaska Constitution, has opted to thumb his nose at it — and at a slate of eminently qualified judges put forth by the council.

  • The governor reignited the same debate later in July of that same year when he did not want to choose from any of the names forwarded by the Judicial Council for filling a vacancy on the Alaska Supreme Court. The governor ultimately filled the position by appointing now-Justice Jennifer Henderson from the list of names the Council had forwarded to him.
  • Governor Dunleavy has  also attempted twice to amend the state constitution to  reduce the authority of the nonpartisan, independent Alaska Judicial Council:
    • In early March 2025 he introduced legislation that would require the Council to forward names of all judicial applicants to the governor for selection. See SJR 13 and HJR 12. The House Committee on State Affairs did not refer HJR 12 out of committee before the end of session.
  • In 2022 the governor joined conservative Republicans in seeking an amendment to the state constitution that would remove much of the Alaska Judicial Council’s authority over the judicial selection process.  This specific goal was a key point of their support for a constitutional convention. Alaska voters roundly rejected a constitutional convention – voting it down 75% to 25%.

AFC believes that the Rule of Law is essential to a strong community statewide, and as you can see, we are working hard on your behalf to protect it.  When elected, Governor Dunleavy took an oath of office to uphold the state’s constitution.  We are now holding him accountable to that oath.  Alaska’s Constitution is the very bedrock upon which all laws that govern Alaskans stand. Allowing any government official to ignore the law causes great harm to all Alaskans and places our system of laws at tremendous risk. We cannot allow anyone, much less the governor, to chip, chip, chip….

Alaskans for Fair Courts cannot do this important work without your donations.  We need you to support our work.  Please. While we truly appreciate the strong words of encouragement that you continue to offer us, and your past support, we cannot accomplish our goals without funding. It is that simple.

We look forward to your support as together we uphold the Rule of Law for all Alaskans!

-Alaskans for Fair Courts