CSSB 129(JUD): "An Act relating to information on judicial officers seeking retention in office."
00 CS FOR SENATE BILL NO. 129(JUD) 01 "An Act relating to information on judicial officers seeking retention in office." 02 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 03 * Section 1. AS 15.58.030(g) is amended to read: 04 (g) Not [NO] later than August 7 of the year in which the state general 05 election will be held, a person seeking retention in office as a justice or judge may file 06 with the lieutenant governor the following information, not to exceed 300 words: 07 (1) a photograph; 08 (2) information regarding the residency of the justice or judge; 09 (3) information regarding the military service of the justice or 10 judge; 11 (4) information regarding the professional activities of the justice 12 or judge, including public outreach and administrative activities; 13 (5) any additional information that the justice or judge would like 14 published to support the justice's or judge's [AND A STATEMENT 15 ADVOCATING THE] candidacy.
01 * Sec. 2. AS 15.58.050 is amended to read: 02 Sec. 15.58.050. Information and recommendations on judicial officers. Not 03 [NO] later than August 7 of the year in which the state general election will be held, 04 the judicial council shall file with the lieutenant governor a statement including 05 information about each supreme court justice, court of appeals judge, superior court 06 judge, and district court judge who will be subject to a retention election. The 07 statement must [SHALL] reflect the evaluation of each justice or judge conducted by 08 the judicial council according to law and, except for information required by law to 09 be kept confidential, must contain, in fewer than 1,200 words total, 10 (1) for a superior court judge or district court judge subject to 11 retention, 12 (A) a statement written by the judge, not to exceed 150 13 words, describing the professional philosophy of the judge; 14 (B) a description of the judicial, legal, or other education of 15 the judge; 16 (C) a description of the business experience of and 17 professional positions held by the judge in the preceding 10 years; 18 (D) a list of service organizations with which the judge is 19 affiliated; 20 (E) if applicable, ratings of the judge by law enforcement 21 officers, attorneys, court system employees, and jurors; 22 (F) the number of decisions by the judge that were 23 reviewed and disposed of by a written decision of an appellate court and 24 the percentage of issues in those decisions that were affirmed by the 25 appellate court; 26 (G) a description of any public disciplinary proceedings 27 against the judge; 28 (H) a self-assessment by the judge, not to exceed 250 words, 29 evaluating the judge's judicial performance; a self-assessment under this 30 subparagraph may include comments on the judge's satisfaction with the 31 judge's judicial role, specific contributions to the judiciary or the field of
01 law, growth in legal knowledge and judicial skills, or other measures of 02 judicial abilities that the judge believes to be important; 03 (2) for a supreme court justice or court of appeals judge subject to 04 retention, the information required under (1)(A) - (E), (G), and (H) of this 05 subsection; 06 (3) for a justice or judge standing retention for the first time, a 07 description of 08 (A) previous political and governmental positions held by 09 the justice or judge, including any political office held; 10 (B) the justice's or judge's primary practice areas before 11 appointment, including the approximate percentage of the justice's or 12 judge's pre-appointment career spent as a trial lawyer; 13 (C) the types of clients the justice or judge represented 14 before appointment [SHALL CONTAIN A BRIEF STATEMENT 15 DESCRIBING EACH PUBLIC REPRIMAND, PUBLIC CENSURE, OR 16 SUSPENSION RECEIVED BY THE JUDGE UNDER AS 22.30.011(d) 17 DURING THE PERIOD COVERED IN THE EVALUATION. A 18 STATEMENT MAY NOT EXCEED 600 WORDS].