In the coming weeks the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will conduct hearings to consider whether the Legislature should confirm Attorney John W. Wood to the non-attorney/public member seat on the Alaska Judicial Council. We fervently hope that the members of these committees vote NO and refuse to confirm Mr. Wood.

Mr. Wood’s ongoing attacks on the independence of Alaska’s judiciary are deeply concerning and threaten the independence of Alaska’s judges. He has proposed eliminating vital roles performed by the Council for many decades, roles that provide critical information to Alaskans about the judges who serve us all. Through his seat on the Council Wood’s attacks – evidenced by proposed changes to the Council’s bylaws and public statements – support eliminating:

  • The Alaska Judicial Council’s decades-long, critical role in identifying the most qualified judicial applicants for appointment. Instead, Wood wants to expand the role of Governor Dunleavy and all future governors in evaluating judicial applicants, increasing the likelihood that judges will be chosen based on their political ideology, rather than their merit, politicizing the future of Alaska’s judiciary.
  • The objective professional performance standards used to evaluate judges who will be on the ballot for retention. Instead, he wants to substitute his own judgment of their performance based on the ideological bent of their decisions. This change would, over time, completely undermine the public’s confidence that judges adhere only to the rule of law rather than be beholden to specific political outcomes.
  • The Council’s longstanding recommendations whether a judge’s job performance meets the highest of their professional standards and should be retained. Eliminating the Council’s recommendations would force voters to read voluminous amounts of online information to try to understand each judge’s performance without any clear guidance. Alaskans are ill-equipped to take this on, and Mr. Wood knows this.

Equally important, Mr. Wood is a convicted tax evader who failed both to pay his personal income taxes and to withhold his employees’ taxes – his efforts to evade paying these taxes continued over a 20-year period. His behavior evidenced a profound lack of respect for the law. He is suspended but not disbarred from the Alaska Bar Association for failing to pay his bar dues and was previously censured by the Alaska Supreme Court for his tax evasion conduct. It is absurd to think that Wood could be confirmed to a position that requires him to evaluate judges whose very responsibility it is to understand and accurately apply the law.

If the Legislature confirms Mr. Wood he will remain on the Council for another five years – by the end of his term he will have done more damage to the independence of Alaska’s judges, and more damage to the public’s perception of the integrity of our judges, than the totality of the attacks made against our judiciary over the past 15 years.

Mr. Wood is an ongoing, immediate and existential threat to the political independence and integrity of our judiciary, which has served Alaskans well for 70 years. Alaskans have relied upon the Judicial Council’s expertise, competence and consistent, reliable focus in ensuring that Alaska’s courts serve Alaskans – not politicians or ideologues. The Council’s objective judicial performance evaluation processes protect Alaskans from potential corrupting influences of political appointments.

The law – our Constitution – matters to all Alaskans. The independence of Alaska’s judges is vital – it guarantees that judges can interpret the law without fear of political reprisal. Judges who are independent of political winds and whims protect Alaskans from chaos. Judges who are appointed based upon their ideologies pose a threat to our safety and to our Constitutional rights.

We urge you to write to Representative Andrew Gray, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, and Senator Matt Claman, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other members of these committees – and ask them to vote NO on Mr. Wood’s confirmation.

Mr. Wood is not in the best interest of Alaskans, or the future of Alaska. Alaskans deserve better.

Senate Judiciary Committee

Address: senate.judiciary@akleg.gov

Salutation: “Dear Chair Claman and Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee”

House Judiciary Committee

Address: house.judiciary@akleg.gov

Salutation: “Dear Chair Gray and Members of the House Judiciary Committee”

House Judiciary Committee group email: House.Judiciary@akleg.gov (short: hjud@akleg.gov)

Rep. Andrew Gray (Chair) | D-Anchorage — District 20
Representative.Andrew.Gray@akleg.gov

Rep. Chuck Kopp | R-Anchorage — District 10
Representative.Chuck.Kopp@akleg.gov

Rep. Ted Eischeid | D-Anchorage — District 22
Representative.Ted.Eischeid@akleg.gov

Rep. Genevieve Mina | D-Anchorage — District 19
Representative.Genevieve.Mina@akleg.gov

Rep. Sarah Vance | R-Homer — District 6
Representative.Sarah.Vance@akleg.gov

Rep. Jubilee Underwood | D-Anchorage — District 18
Representative.Jubilee.Underwood@akleg.gov

Rep. Ashley Carrick | D-Fairbanks — District 35
Representative.Ashley.Carrick@akleg.gov

Rep. Julie Coulombe | R-Anchorage — District 1
Representative.Julie.Coulombe@akleg.gov

Senate Judiciary Committee group email: Senate.Judiciary@akleg.gov (short: sjud@akleg.gov)

Sen. Matt Claman (Chair) | D-Anchorage — District H
Senator.Matt.Claman@akleg.gov

Sen. Jesse Kiehl (Vice Chair) | D-Juneau — District B
Senator.Jesse.Kiehl@akleg.gov

Sen. Gary Stevens | R-Kodiak — District C
Senator.Gary.Stevens@akleg.gov

Sen. Löki Tobin | D-Anchorage — District I
Senator.Loki.Tobin@akleg.gov

Sen. Cathy Tilton | R-Wasilla — District M
Senator.Cathy.Tilton@akleg.gov

 

As always, we appreciate your support
– Alaskans For Fair Courts