Legislature(2017 - 2018)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)

02/19/2018 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY

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* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
*+ SB 151 NUMBER OF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
+ HB 208 TRUSTS; COMM PROP TRUSTS; POWERS OF APPT TELECONFERENCED
Heard & Held
             SB 151-NUMBER OF SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
1:33:45 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL announced the consideration of SB 151.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
1:34:18 PM                                                                                                                    
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Administrative Staff, Alaska Court                                                                
System, Anchorage, Alaska, introduced SB 151, on behalf of the                                                                  
Alaska Court System speaking to the following sponsor statement:                                                                
                                                                                                                                
     The Alaska  Court System is  requesting a change  to AS                                                                    
     22.10.120  to increase  the  number  of superior  court                                                                    
     judges in  the state from  42 to 43.  Specifically, the                                                                    
     court  is  seeking  authorization  for  the  additional                                                                    
     superior court  seat so  that one  of the  two existing                                                                    
     district court  slots in Juneau  can be converted  to a                                                                    
     superior  court judgeship.  Superior court  judges have                                                                    
     broader  jurisdiction than  district court  judges; the                                                                    
     change would  allow the new  judge to handle  a greater                                                                    
     variety of  cases, thus ensuring  that the  caseload in                                                                    
     Juneau is handled more efficiently and effectively.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     The two  existing Juneau  superior court  judges handle                                                                    
     about 590 cases per  judge per year, the second-highest                                                                    
     caseload per  superior court judge of  any court except                                                                    
     Anchorage  (where  other  resources  are  available  to                                                                    
     assist with  cases). The high caseload  has resulted in                                                                    
     a reduced  capacity to schedule  and decide  matters as                                                                    
     expeditiously as the court  system would like. Further,                                                                    
     one  of long-serving  district court  judges in  Juneau                                                                    
     has  announced his  plan to  retire effective  June 30,                                                                    
     2018.  This bill  is therefore  timely; if  passed, the                                                                    
     solicitation for  applicants to  that soon-to-be-vacant                                                                    
     position will  be for  a superior  court rather  than a                                                                    
     district court judge.                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     The  new superior  court judge  will  share a  judicial                                                                    
     assistant  and  law  clerk  with  the  existing  Juneau                                                                    
     judges, and  would have the  already-existing courtroom                                                                    
     and  materials from  the  district  court position,  so                                                                    
     that no  additional resources are necessary.  The court                                                                    
     system will  absorb the additional salary  and benefits                                                                    
     for  the  superior  court judge  with  savings  it  has                                                                    
     achieved   elsewhere   through  attrition.   Therefore,                                                                    
     Senate Bill 151 has a zero fiscal note.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE explained that Juneau  also has a magistrate judge that                                                               
has  been doing  master  work  the last  few  years  to help  the                                                               
superior court  with preliminary  hearings, not  final decisions.                                                               
With this change, that magistrate  judge would transition to more                                                               
typical duties,  leaving the remaining district  court judge with                                                               
about  the same  number of  filings as  the Kenai  district court                                                               
judge.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
She said the  court system hasn't asked for a  judge the past few                                                               
years  because it  typically costs  about  $500 thousand.  Taking                                                               
advantage of  the long-serving district court  judge's retirement                                                               
and combining resources makes this request timely.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
1:45:52 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI referred  to table 6.05 of  the Court System                                                               
FY17 annual  report and asked  if the  number of filings  was per                                                               
judicial position or the total amount.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL  deferred the  question until  the members  and Ms.                                                               
Meade had a copy of the report.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:47:11 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COSTELLO asked  if she had information on  the wait times                                                               
for cases to be resolved, and if that had changed.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE said  she didn't have data on the  time to dispositions                                                               
but it's  always more  complicated than  it appears.  She advised                                                               
that there has not been a  problem where criminal cases had to be                                                               
dismissed  because Rule  45 deadlines  were  not met,  but it  is                                                               
increasingly  difficult for  parties  to get  scheduled if  their                                                               
case  doesn't have  an absolute  deadline to  be heard.  This has                                                               
caused general dissatisfaction with the process.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COSTELLO asked what timelines are in statute.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE explained  that child in need of aid  (CINA) cases have                                                               
federally imposed  guidelines for bringing a  case to permanency.                                                               
Those guidelines  are tied to  federal funding for the  Office of                                                               
Children's Services and are written  in the court's child in need                                                               
of  aid rules,  although parties  can agree  to extensions  under                                                               
certain circumstances.  This is  not uncommon. The  court follows                                                               
criminal Rule 45  in felony cases, which has  a 120-day timeline.                                                               
Felony cases often are not  resolved in that timeline because the                                                               
case  is not  ready for  trial. However,  the parties  talk about                                                               
where  they are  relative to  Rule  45 at  every felony  hearing.                                                               
Everyone  is  aware  of  and works  towards  that  timeline,  but                                                               
logistics sometimes stand in the way of accomplishing it.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  COSTELLO  asked  if  there  were  consequences  for  not                                                               
meeting  the  timeline and  if  passing  SB  151 would  help  the                                                               
situation at the superior court level.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE  said the  court hopes  it will  help move  cases along                                                               
faster. She explained  that the court generally grants  a Rule 45                                                               
waiver if the parties agree that  a continuance is needed for due                                                               
process.  In  the rare  circumstance  that  there  is a  Rule  45                                                               
failure the case is dismissed.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COSTELLO asked if the court  tracks the types of cases it                                                               
hears to see trends that might be occurring.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE replied trends might be  evident if one were to look at                                                               
the  statutorily required  administrative  reports  on the  Court                                                               
System website,  but the  court never  addresses the  question of                                                               
why  cases go  up  and down.  She offered  to  provide follow  up                                                               
information  on  the website  and  a  copy  of  a pie  chart  she                                                               
prepared  on  the types  of  cases  and  the percentage  that  is                                                               
handled in the different courts.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COSTELLO asked what the landscape of cases looks like.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE reported  that in Juneau from 2013 to  2017, the number                                                               
of probate cases increased 70 percent  and the number of child in                                                               
need of  aid cases increased  60 percent. Statewide the  child in                                                               
need of aid  cases have increased about 50 percent  the last four                                                               
years and felonies  and misdemeanors ebb and flow.  Last year the                                                               
number of misdemeanors decreased and  now there is an increase in                                                               
the number of felonies and felony trials.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  if the  number of  filings in  table                                                               
6.05  [on  page 157]  of  the  Court  System FY17  annual  report                                                               
represents raw filings.                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE  replied the  table reflects the  number of  files that                                                               
come in the door per superior court judge.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  if  the totals  in  the last  column                                                               
titled  "Filings per  judicial position"  represent the  combined                                                               
filings  for superior  court judges,  district court  judges, and                                                               
magistrate judges.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE replied it may also include magistrate judges.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI  noted  that   there  are  19  filings  per                                                               
judicial  position in  Angoon.  He  asked if  there  is either  a                                                               
district court judge or magistrate judge in that jurisdiction.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE answered  no; the judicial positions  in Southeast have                                                               
a  traveling calendar  and Judge  George  who is  based in  Sitka                                                               
covers both district court and superior court in that location.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
1:56:39 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked  if the 987 filings  in Sitka includes                                                               
the filings in Angoon.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MEADE  said no;  to  get  a  better, but  still  incomplete,                                                               
picture of  the actual  caseload you  would need  to add  all the                                                               
areas the judge is covering.  For example, adding the numbers for                                                               
Sitka, Angoon, and  Prince of Wales gives a better  idea of Judge                                                               
George's workload.  She cautioned that it's  difficult to compare                                                               
workloads because travel takes time out of a judge's schedule.                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if the Juneau judge travels.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE  said on paper the  Juneau judges do travel.  One judge                                                               
covers Juneau, Yakutat,  and Haines and the  other covers Juneau,                                                               
Hoonah,  and Skagway.  The  last couple  of  years the  presiding                                                               
judge has  tried to  minimize travel for  those judges  either by                                                               
taking it himself or offering it to the Sitka judge.                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  WIELECHOWSKI asked  if superior  court judges  typically                                                               
get a law clerk and district  court judges typically do not get a                                                               
law clerk.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE said that's correct.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  asked if the  cost of  a law clerk  for the                                                               
proposed additional superior court judge  will be absorbed in the                                                               
court's budget.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE  clarified that the Court  System is not seeking  a law                                                               
clerk  for  the proposed  position,  so  no additional  money  is                                                               
needed.  Everyone thinks  having  two law  clerks  for the  three                                                               
judges will  work because the  caseload for the  sitting superior                                                               
court judges will  drop. If things change in a  few years and the                                                               
model is unsustainable,  the Court System could hire  a law clerk                                                               
without coming to  the legislature using a  PCN (position control                                                               
number) from another vacated position.  She noted that law clerks                                                               
are considered temporary employees and  don't get any benefits or                                                               
payments into PERS.  Their salaries are in the  high $60 thousand                                                               
range.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  asked if  that would  be the  only superior                                                               
court judge in the state that doesn't have a law clerk.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE said no; the  two Ketchikan superior court judges share                                                               
a law  clerk, the presiding  judge in  Anchorage does not  have a                                                               
law  clerk, and  judges often  share resources  when a  law clerk                                                               
leaves before the end of his or her one-year term.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI  asked if there  is a national  standard for                                                               
filings per judicial positions.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. MEADE said not that she was aware of.                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:01:02 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  COGHILL asked  if this  could  potentially cause  downward                                                               
pressure and the need for more judge magistrates.                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MEADE  said the  hope  and  expectation  is that  this  will                                                               
alleviate the  problem; this change  is not expected to  create a                                                               
ripple effect to other courts in Southeast.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CHAIR COGHILL said he wanted  assurance that this wouldn't create                                                               
a bubble that appears somewhere else.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MEADE  said  she  appreciates that,  but  the  Court  System                                                               
expects  this  change will  contain  the  pressure and  resources                                                               
where they're needed without hurting other case handling.                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
2:04:23 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR COGHILL stated that he would  hold SB 151 in committee with                                                               
public testimony open.                                                                                                          

Document Name Date/Time Subjects
SB 151 - Sponsor Statement.pdf SJUD 2/19/2018 1:30:00 PM
SB 151
SB 151 - Supporting Case Filing Data.pdf SJUD 2/19/2018 1:30:00 PM
SB 151
HB 208 - Sectional Summary.pdf SJUD 2/19/2018 1:30:00 PM
HB 208
HB 208 - Sponsor Statement.pdf SJUD 2/19/2018 1:30:00 PM
HB 208
HB 208 - Supporting Document.pdf SJUD 2/19/2018 1:30:00 PM
HB 208
HB 208 - Presentation.pdf SJUD 2/19/2018 1:30:00 PM
HB 208