02/26/2010 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY

        HB 323 - INCREASING NUMBER OF SUPERIOR CT JUDGES                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
1:50:17 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR RAMRAS announced  that the next order of  business would be                                                               
HOUSE BILL  NO. 323,  "An Act increasing  the number  of superior                                                               
court  judges designated  for the  third  judicial district;  and                                                               
providing for an effective date."                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
1:50:49 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
[Chair Ramras turned the gavel over to Vice Chair Dahlstrom.]                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
DOUG  WOOLIVER,  Administrative Attorney,  Administrative  Staff,                                                               
Office  of  the  Administrative  Director,  Alaska  Court  System                                                               
(ACS),  explained on  behalf of  the administration  that HB  323                                                               
would  add a  new  superior  court judge  position  to the  third                                                               
judicial  district  -  that  which   includes  Anchorage.    This                                                               
proposed  addition must  occur through  statute because  it's the                                                               
statutes  that establish  how many  judges there  are in  a given                                                               
judicial district.   It  is the ACS's  intention, he  relayed, to                                                               
have the  new judge preside  over civil  cases, such as  child in                                                               
need of aid  (CINA) cases, because the amount of  time the courts                                                               
are spending on them has  increased substantially, in part due to                                                               
the fact that  more of them are being heard  in their entirety by                                                               
superior court judges  rather than by standing  masters acting as                                                               
assistants  to the  superior court.    This change  in the  ACS's                                                               
process  provides for  a  much better  case  model, allowing  the                                                               
presiding  judge  to have  a  much  better understanding  of  the                                                               
families involved.  Another reason  there has been an increase in                                                               
the CINA  case workload is that  there has also been  an increase                                                               
in the number of what he  termed "status hearings" - derived from                                                               
the  therapeutic  court  model;  status hearings  help  keep  the                                                               
families on  track and increase  the likelihood of  their success                                                               
in getting  their kids  back -  the ultimate  goal of  the entire                                                               
CINA process.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WOOLIVER   explained  that  the  ACS's   workload  has  also                                                               
increased due to the fact that  there has been an increase in the                                                               
number of unrepresented litigants  addressing the court in family                                                               
law cases.   He  surmised that  one of  the biggest  reasons more                                                               
people are choosing to litigate  their family law matters without                                                               
the assistance of  counsel is cost.  Such  cases, however, result                                                               
in a  lot more work  for the court  because although they  can be                                                               
expensive,  attorneys help  cases  move along  in many  different                                                               
ways -  they know  the legal  issues involved,  they know  how to                                                               
file motions, they  know when to file motions, and  they know how                                                               
to focus the court's attention  [on legally relevant issues].  In                                                               
contrast,  unrepresented litigants  don't  necessarily have  that                                                               
knowledge, and  so it  requires a  lot of  judicial time  to help                                                               
such  litigants  through  the  process.   He  mentioned  that  in                                                               
addition to,  at some point,  requesting more judges, the  ACS is                                                               
also intending  to implement other  procedural changes in  how it                                                               
handles pro  se cases in  particular, and would be  attempting to                                                               
hire more staff to help better manage pro se cases.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
[Vice Chair Dahlstrom returned the gavel to Chair Ramras.]                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
1:55:53 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  HERRON  asked  what   the  proposed  new  judge's                                                               
caseload would be.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR.  WOOLIVER said  that even  with the  new judge,  the caseload                                                               
would be about 600 cases per judge.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG remarked  that he is very  much in favor                                                               
of  expanding  the  use  of [judges  pro  tempore],  which  could                                                               
involve training suitable members of  the bar to serve as [judges                                                               
pro tempore].   He suggested that the ACS  consider pursuing that                                                               
option; it wouldn't  cost very much, it would  speed the judicial                                                               
system along, and it would provide [extra] judges.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MR. WOOLIVER  reiterated that it  is the statutes  that determine                                                               
who  gets to  serve  as a  judge.   Furthermore,  judges must  be                                                               
appointed  by  the governor,  and  so,  currently, the  ACS  uses                                                               
retired judges as  judges pro tempore.  To  allow a non-appointed                                                               
person to serve as a judge  pro tempore would require a statutory                                                               
change.   In response to  a question, he explained  that although                                                               
the ACS does  use special masters occasionally, it  doesn't do so                                                               
on routine cases.                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG requested that  Mr. Wooliver ask the ACS                                                               
to consider making a change to  the Alaska Rules of Court so that                                                               
the use of such people could be expanded.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
MR. WOOLIVER  agreed to do so.   In response to  a question about                                                               
the ACS's fiscal  note for HB 323, he explained  that the biggest                                                               
single cost would be for the  new judge - $257,000 for salary and                                                               
benefits; that  every judge has  an in-court clerk, a  law clerk,                                                               
and an administrative assistant  - $61,400, $60,400, and $61,400,                                                               
respectively, for salary and benefits;  and that there is a "one-                                                               
time"  cost  for  the  necessary   equipment  -  [$33,800].    He                                                               
mentioned that the necessary capital  costs were already included                                                               
in last year's capital budget.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
2:03:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
QUINLAN  STEINER,  Director,   Central  Office,  Public  Defender                                                               
Agency (PDA), Department of Administration  (DOA), in response to                                                               
a  question,  said  that  the   PDA  has  no  particular  concern                                                               
regarding  the  proposed  addition  of  a  superior  court  judge                                                               
position to the third judicial  district, but predicted that that                                                               
addition  could put  added pressure  on the  PDA due  to it  then                                                               
having insufficient personnel.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR  RAMRAS, after  ascertaining  that no  one  else wished  to                                                               
testify, closed public testimony on HB 323.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
2:04:59 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM moved to report  HB 323 out of committee                                                               
with  individual  recommendations  and  the  accompanying  fiscal                                                               
notes.   There being no objection,  HB 323 was reported  from the                                                               
House Judiciary Standing Committee.