Legislature(2025 - 2026)GRUENBERG 120
01/24/2025 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Overview: Alaska Court System | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
January 24, 2025
1:00 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Andrew Gray, Chair
Representative Chuck Kopp, Vice Chair
Representative Ted Eischeid
Representative Genevieve Mina
Representative Sarah Vance
Representative Mia Costello
Representative Jubilee Underwood
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW: ALASKA COURT SYSTEM
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel
Alaska Court System
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave an overview of the Alaska Court
System.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:00:44 PM
CHAIR ANDREW GRAY called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. Representatives Underwood,
Costello, Mina, Eischeid, Vance, Kopp, and Gray were present at
the call to order.
CHAIR GRAY made opening remarks encouraging the committee to lay
the foundation for future success. He welcomed disagreement in
an effort to produce better laws and honored two previous House
Judiciary Standing Committee chairs: Lesil McGuire and Max
Gruenberg.
^OVERVIEW: Alaska Court System
OVERVIEW: Alaska Court System
1:05:06 PM
CHAIR GRAY announced that the only order of business would be an
overview of the Alaska Court System.
1:05:38 PM
NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Alaska Court System, gave an
overview of the Alaska Court System (ACS), beginning with its
basic structure. The system is unified with central
administration in Anchorage. There are four judicial districts,
each with a presiding judge. She detailed the trial courts, the
Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court, noting that ACS makes
up 1.5 percent of the state budget. She said the 38 magistrates
are not evenly distributed throughout the four districts;
instead, placement is determined by caseload. With regard to
the budget, she explained that ACS does not retain any of the
money it receives. All funds are deposited into the general
fund (GF). Last year, nearly $7.8 million was deposited into
the GF. She added that instead of following regulations like
executive branch agencies, ACS follows procedural rules adopted
by the Supreme Court, termed the Alaska Rules of Court ("Court
Rules"). The Constitution of the State of Alaska permits the
legislature to amend Court Rules with a two-thirds majority.
She referred to the pie charts on the document titled, "FY 24
Trial Court Case Filings Statewide [included in the committee
packet], which illustrated the breakdown of case filings by
offense in the superior and district courts.
1:20:58 PM
MS. MEADE, in response to committee questions, said most but not
all court filings are done electronically and anticipated that
everything would be electronic within the next year. Electronic
filings are helpful to the court because it gives everyone
access to the same information. With regard to the backlog from
the COVID-19 Pandemic, she said progress has been made. As of
January 1, 2025, there are 25 percent fewer criminal cases
pending compared to January 1, 2024, which is on par with 2019.
She continued the presentation by describing the courts'
administrative offices, which include libraries, a fiscal
department, and human resources, for example. She reported that
last year, over $1.5 million in restitution was collected and
distributed to victims. She reflected on reported delays and
time to disposition, and attributed this to requests for
postponement, which occur for various reasons, such as a new
attorney being assigned to the case, a conflict of interest,
public defenders leaving the agency, the defendant being in
treatment, filing a motion to suppress evidence, or victims
and/or witnesses becoming unavailable. She acknowledged that
delays have always been a problem, and one that is growing.
1:44:32 PM
MS. MEADE, continuing the presentation, discussed strategies to
improve to the backlog, including scheduling orders, continuance
policies, and shorter deadlines for class B and C felonies. She
explained that the backlog developed because during the COVID-19
Pandemic, jury trials were suspended. She expounded on the
clearance rate, noting that the statewide average is 107
percent, which she characterized as excellent. She segued to
therapeutic court, which aims to stop the cycle of criminality
for high need, high risk individuals, such as those with
substance abuse or mental health issues and detailed the inner
workings of the program.
1:56:48 PM
MS. MEADE, in response to a series of committee questions,
explained that the rate of recidivism lessens the longer an
individual stays in therapeutic court. She estimated a 20
percent recidivism rate for both graduates and nongraduates of
therapeutic court, versus a 56 percent rate statewide. She
discussed the two Tribal courts in Kenai and Sitka, for which
the judge makes a conscious effort at culturally sensitive
discussions, sanctions, and incentives. Addressing vacancy
rates, she reported that there are four vacant judgeships right
now, but temporary retired judges are available to fill the
positions as needed. For non-judge staff, there is currently an
11 percent vacancy rate and funding allows for a 7 percent rate.
She acknowledged that the pay raise provided by the legislature
several years ago was helpful in improving the vacancy rate.
2:13:20 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:13 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HJUD Alaska Court System Case filings.pdf |
HJUD 1/24/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| HJUD Alaska Court System Map.pdf |
HJUD 1/24/2025 1:00:00 PM |
|
| HJUD Alaska Court System Therapeutic Courts.pdf |
HJUD 1/24/2025 1:00:00 PM |