Legislature(2007 - 2008)CAPITOL 120
02/18/2008 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar | |
| Commission on Judicial Conduct | |
| Violent Crimes Compensation Board | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
JOINT MEETING
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
February 18, 2008
1:07 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
HOUSE JUDICIARY
Representative Jay Ramras, Chair
Representative Nancy Dahlstrom, Vice Chair
Representative John Coghill
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Lindsey Holmes
SENATE JUDICIARY
Senator Hollis French, Chair
Senator Charlie Huggins, Vice Chair
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator Bill Wielechowski
Senator Gene Therriault
MEMBERS ABSENT
HOUSE JUDICIARY
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Ralph Samuels
SENATE JUDICIARY
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
Carl Ekstrom - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Commission on Judicial Conduct
Peter Aschenbrenner - Fairbanks
Thomas G. Nave - Juneau
Robert Sheldon - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
Violent Crimes Compensation Board
LeRoy J. Barker - Anchorage
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
CARL EKSTROM, Appointee
to the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Board of
Governors of the Alaska Bar.
PETER ASCHENBRENNER, Appointee
to the Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC)
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Commission on
Judicial Conduct (CJC).
THOMAS G. NAVE, Esq., Appointee
to the Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Commission on
Judicial Conduct (CJC).
ROBERT SHELDON, Appointee
to the Commission on Judicial Conduct (CJC)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Commission on
Judicial Conduct (CJC).
LEROY J.BARKER, Appointee
to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board (VCCB)
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Violent
Crimes Compensation Board (VCCB).
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR JAY RAMRAS called the joint meeting of the House and
Senate Judiciary Standing Committees to order at 1:07:56 PM.
Representative Holmes, Gruenberg, Dahlstrom, Coghill, and
Ramras, and Senators Therriault, Wielechowski, McGuire, Huggins,
and French were present at the call to order.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S)
^Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
1:08:57 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the committees would first consider
the appointment of Carl Ekstrom to the Board of Governors of the
Alaska Bar.
1:10:38 PM
CARL EKSTROM, Appointee to the Board of Governors of the Alaska
Bar, conveyed that it is essential to have a public voice, a
layman's view of the process. He offered that his background is
in public affairs, marketing, and with small businesses. In
response to Chair French, Mr. Ekstrom stated that he is
interested in serving on the Board of Governors of the Alaska
Bar primarily due to his interest in the ethics of attorneys.
He reiterated that it is important to have a layman's viewpoint
of the process and procedure. He stated that he would bring a
rural, small business perspective to any discussions held by the
body. He surmised that this would be a learning experience for
him.
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Ekstrom whether he has had any life
experiences that would influence him on the topic of attorney's
ethics and if he has had any positive or negative experiences
with attorneys.
MR. EKSTROM answered that he has had both positive and negative
experiences with lawyers, and characterized his experiences with
attorneys as generally better ones rather than worse ones. He
stressed his value to the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
would be to provide a rural, small-business perspective on
issues.
SENATOR THERRIAULT referred to Mr. Ekstrom's resume, and asked
Mr. Ekstrom whether he is currently associated with the
Whitestone Community Association.
MR. EKSTROM answered that he is not; although he founded the
association, he left the position in 2005.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked Mr. Ekstrom to describe his past
interactions with the Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA).
MR. EKSTROM answered that he previously served on the ATIA
board, on its marketing and public relations committees. He
pointed out that he still serves on its government relations
committee. He stated that he is currently very involved with
the ATIA charity walk held in Anchorage. He characterized his
relationship with some ATIA members as being close
relationships.
SENATOR THERRIAULT offered his understanding that most people
who serve on the ATIA are involved in the tourism business. He
asked Mr. Ekstrom whether his ATIA service was due to his
involvement with the Whitestone Community Association and Rika's
Roadhouse & Landing in Delta Junction, Alaska.
MR. EKSTROM said it was.
1:15:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES referred to Mr. Ekstrom's application, and
noted that he expressed interest in serving on the Public
Offices Commission (APOC), the Alaska Bar Association, and the
Alaska Health Care Strategies Planning Council. She asked Mr.
Ekstrom to describe what piqued his interest in serving on any
boards and commissions, and whether someone had encouraged him
to apply or if he decided to apply based on his own interest.
MR. EKSTROM responded that both had happened. He stressed his
interest in citizen involvement, and noted that several times
people have encouraged him to become more engaged in community
work.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked Mr. Ekstrom whether he feels strongly
about something in particular that he would like to change, with
respect to the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar.
MR. EKSTROM indicated that he did not He stated that he
appreciates that a public member can provide the Board of
Governors of the Alaska Bar with a public perspective on matters.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL asked Mr. Ekstrom whether he has observed
any of the board's proceedings.
MR. EKSTROM answered that he has not, adding that thus far his
only involvement with the Bar Association has been to assist
Delta Junction high school students conduct mini-mock trials
about five years ago.
CHAIR FRENCH opined that Mr. Ekstrom seems qualified to serve in
the position. He said he would like to lobby for lower
association dues for attorneys because Alaska has the highest
bar association dues in the country. He stated that he has long
been an advocate for tiered dues, based on experience, such that
younger attorneys would pay lower dues and older attorneys would
pay higher dues. He opined that the vast majority of states
have some type of model to allow for tiered dues. He relayed
that he previously took to the Bar Association a proposal
suggesting tiered dues, which was immediately rejected.
REPRESENTATIVE COGHILL reminded members that the member's
signature on the committee report does not reflect approval or
disapproval of the appointees and that the nominations are
merely forwarded to the full legislature for confirmation or
rejection.
1:19:57 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS made a motion to advance from the committees the
nomination of Carl Ekstrom to the Board of Governors of the
Alaska Bar. There being no objection, the confirmation was
advanced from the joint meeting of the House and Senate Judiciary
Standing Committees.
^Commission on Judicial Conduct
1:20:23 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the committees would next consider
the appointment of Peter Aschenbrenner to the Commission on
Judicial Conduct (CJC).
PETER ASCHENBRENNER, Appointee to the Commission on Judicial
Conduct (CJC), stated that he has offices in Anchorage and
Fairbanks. He said that he has been practicing law for over 36
years. The area of judicial ethics is of particular interest to
him, he noted, and relayed that he has written over 10 articles
in the state bar journal on this topic, that he has appeared
before the CJC as an advocate, that he has attended national
conferences, and that he has researched issues that have come
before the CJC. He surmised that the attorney members of the
CJC have some very heavy lifting to do because they are the
ones, as attorneys, that see the vast majority of problem
behaviors as judges are getting into trouble. He posited that
two areas of particular interest to the legislature that the CJC
is currently facing pertain to ethical conduct in settlement
conferences and to delays in making decisions.
1:22:04 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Aschenbrenner whether he's previously
served on the CJC.
MR. ASCHENBRENNER answered that he was previously appointed by
Governor Murkowski in 2004, and that his four-year term will end
in March 2008; thus his current application is for reappointment
to the CJC. In response to a question, he pointed out that the
state constitution provides for three different and divergent
points of view, and offered that judges and public members bring
general and specific experiences to the CJC. Attorney members,
though, provide proactive comments on problems judges encounter.
He pointed out that the vast majority of the [CJC's] proceedings
are confidential, and that as the beginnings of problem
behaviors emerge, the CJC acts as a "misconduct commission."
The CJC also lays out guidelines to guide all judges in ethical
behavior in guiding parties into settlement conferences.
SENATOR HUGGINS asked Mr. Aschenbrenner to speak to his
forthcoming article for the "The Bar Rag," titled "Hey Dude,
Where's My Wig?".
MR. ASCHENBRENNER noted that the judges in the United Kingdom
wear a wig down to the waist. This gives the British a sharp
and clear vision of its judges. He noted that since the United
States does not use such accoutrements, it struggles to clearly
define its judges. He also noted that the public wants its
judges to decide cases in a timely manner. In fact, current law
states that a judge cannot collect his/her payroll check if one
of his/her decisions is six months overdue. He asked members
whether they feel that law is appropriate. This is one issue
about which the CJC can provide guidance and encourage judges to
issue their decisions prior to the aforementioned deadline,
rather than to go without being paid.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked Mr. Aschenbrenner whether he has
previously applied for judgeship.
MR. ASCHENBRENNER said he has not, though for about 16 years he
served as a part-time U.S. Magistrate in Fairbanks.
1:26:44 PM
CHAIR FRENCH made a motion to advance from the committees the
nomination of Peter Aschenbrenner to the Commission on Judicial
Conduct. There being no objection, the confirmation was
advanced from the joint meeting of the House and Senate
Judiciary Standing Committees.
1:27:10 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the committees would next consider
the appointment of Thomas G. Nave, Esq., to the Commission on
Judicial Conduct (CJC).
THOMAS G. NAVE, Esq., Appointee to the Commission on Judicial
Conduct (CJC), stated that he has practiced law for over 31
years; that until 1985, he was deputy director of the Public
Defender Agency (PDA); and that since that time he has been
engaged in private practice, which encompasses criminal defense,
general civil, and litigation. He offered that he has regularly
represented attorneys who have been sued for malpractice, and
noted that he too has served on the CJC for four years. He noted
that the three attorneys that serve on the CJC do not hold a
common view of everything, but that each one brings his/her own
perspective, and stated that he has enjoyed serving on the CJC
the past four years. And although initially he did not intend to
reapply, he remarked, he changed his mind when he realized that
the learning curve seems to be so steep. He pointed out that he
has been to national training, held in Chicago, Illinois, twice
in the past four years. It takes time to come up to speed on
what the judicial canons state, what they mean, and how they are
applied in practice. He stated that he felt obligated to put
the training he has received thus far to effective use.
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG offered that he has a conflict of
interest in that Mr. Nave has represented other members of his
family.
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM asked Mr. Nave whether he has a
potential conflict of interest since his wife works for the
Department of Law (DOL).
MR. NAVE answered that he did not believe that a conflict of
interest exists since the DOL's work falls outside the purview
of the CJC, the sole purpose of which, he opined, is to
determine, based on complaints that are filed, whether a
particular judge has crossed an ethical line. The DOL plays no
part in that matter, he offered.
SENATOR THERRIAULT referred to Mr. Nave's resume and asked him
to provide more information on the statement included in it that
read, "I have also been retained by B.P. Exploration (Alaska) on
two occasions as a trial consultant and retained by law firms as
an expert witness in legal malpractice cases."
MR. NAVE explained that that statement was part of is his
initial application submitted four years ago. He noted that BP
hired him twice as part of its trial litigation team because it
wanted a local perspective. He stated that he did not
participate in trials, but instead assisted BP in setting up a
mock trial situation and focus groups. In response to another
question, he said he thought that BP was preparing for a trial
that would decide if it was paying its fair share of taxes to
the state. Mr. Nave added, "It settled, basically, on the
courthouse steps."
1:33:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM made a motion to advance from the
committees the nomination of Thomas G. Nave, Esq., to the
Commission on Judicial Conduct. There being no objection, the
confirmation was advanced from the joint meeting of the House
and Senate Judiciary Standing Committees.
1:33:52 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the committees would next consider
the appointment of Robert Sheldon to the Commission on Judicial
Conduct (CJC).
1:33:59 PM
ROBERT SHELDON, Appointee to the Commission on Judicial Conduct
(CJC), relayed that in the past two decades he has been involved
in serving in a public policy venue. He mentioned that he
learned that a position on the CJC would become vacant in March
2008 during a casual conversation with a friend.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES asked Mr. Sheldon whether this is his
first time to apply to serve on a board or commission.
MR. SHELDON said he was previously involved with a Taiwan-Alaska
Trade & Investment Cooperation Council (TATICC) group under the
Murkowski administration, an investment council that explored,
arranged, and facilitated bilateral trade between Alaska and
Taiwan.
CHAIR RAMRAS referred to Mr. Sheldon's resume, and noted that at
present Mr. Sheldon assists in managing a private equity fund
which invests in latter-stage, power-related companies. Chair
Ramras asked Mr. Sheldon whether any of those companies have an
interest in the State of Alaska.
MR. SHELDON said they do not. He further elaborated that only
two holdings remain in the fund since its investments have been
sold off to public markets.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES asked Mr. Sheldon whether he has had any
particular experiences with the judicial branch that have led to
either positive or negative opinions.
MR. SHELDON indicated that he has not, though he is intrigued
with the CJC's ethics advice and prevention component. He said
that the process of reviewing the CJC's prior opinions and
actions attracted him to the CJC.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES asked Mr. Sheldon whether there is
anything he would like to specifically accomplish if he were to
serve on the CJC.
MR. SHELDON said he does not have anything specific he wishes to
accomplish other than to just perform his public duty.
1:39:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG made a motion to advance from the
committees the nomination of Robert D. Sheldon to the Commission
on Judicial Conduct. There being no objection, the confirmation
was advanced from the joint meeting of the House and Senate
Judiciary Standing Committees.
^Violent Crimes Compensation Board
1:39:41 PM
CHAIR RAMRAS announced that the committees would last consider
the reappointment of Leroy J. Barker to the Violent Crimes
Compensation Board (VCCB).
1:39:57 PM
LEROY J.BARKER, Appointee to the Violent Crimes Compensation
Board (VCCB), relayed that he retired from practicing law three
years ago and has served for the last five years on the Violent
Crimes Compensation Board (VCCB). He said that he is requesting
to be reappointed to serve on the VCCB, characterized it as a
worthwhile activity, and remarked that it is important to have
someone with experience continuing to serve. Currently the VCCB
consists of one physician, one lay person, and himself, as its
attorney, he added. He again expressed interest in continuing
to serve on the VCCB.
CHAIR RAMRAS asked Mr. Barker to explain the types of projects
the VCCB undertakes.
MR. BARKER explained that the VCCB is a statewide board, and
that victims of violent crimes apply for compensation based on
crimes that are subject to the VCCB, as set out by statute. He
offered that statutes also establish restraints with respect to
what compensation can be awarded to victims. He characterized
the work of the VCCB as one in which the board members review
files and rarely hear from the claimants. Victims seek
assistance, lost income, and medical costs, and the most
important thing the VCCB does, he surmised, is to offer
emergency awards up to $1,500, primarily to help relocate
victims of domestic violence. All first responders are required
to notify victims that the VCCB exists, he noted.
CHAIR RAMRAS asked Mr. Barker whether the VCCB receives matching
federal funds.
MR. BARKER answered that the VCCB receives $.40 on the dollar in
matching funds, and that a portion of the permanent fund is
retained for the criminal justice system and that the VCCB
receives a portion of that money - this represents the VCCB's
primary funding source.
CHAIR RAMRAS asked Mr. Barker to outline any suggested
improvements for the VCCB.
MR. BARKER answered that the VCCB would like to have funding
appropriated to the VCCB, and not lapse, in order to benefit
from the matching federal funds and thereby assist more victims.
Currently any surplus funding, from court-ordered restitution,
subrogation claims, and donations revert to the general fund
(GF). In the past, the VCCB has depleted its funds and
therefore had to reduce compensation to victims. He offered his
understanding that bills have been introduced that would assist
the VCCB. He further noted that most victims are impoverished
or destitute.
CHAIR RAMRAS asked how many victims are compensated annually
through the VCCB.
MR. BARKER offered his understanding that 730 victims were
compensated "this year."
CHAIR RAMRAS surmised that enhancing the VCCB funding via the
aforementioned legislation would assist the victims of violent
crimes.
MR. BARKER concurred.
1:49:14 PM
REPRESENTATIVE GRUENBERG relayed that he has known Mr. Barker
for over 30 years, and recommends his continuation on the VCCB.
Representative Gruenberg recalled that a number of years ago the
VCCB's jurisdiction was expanded to include arson, and asked Mr.
Barker whether other crimes should be added.
MR. BARKER said that he did not think so. He opined that the
VCCB has not turned down anyone who has suffered from a violent
crime. He discouraged expanding the VCCB's jurisdiction to
property crimes due to the tremendous cost involved in doing so.
It's not that the victims of property crimes don't deserve help,
but there is a lack of resources for providing assistance to the
large numbers of victims of that type of activity.
SENATOR McGUIRE thanked Mr. Barker for continuing to serve. The
VCCB is an uncompensated board, she noted, and said its members
embody the highest level of service.
REPRESENTATIVE HOLMES relayed that someone she holds in high
regard has referred to Mr. Barker as "the ethical gold
standard."
1:51:59 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DAHLSTROM made a motion to advance from the
committees the nomination of LeRoy J. Barker to the Violent
Crimes Compensation Board. There being no objection, the
confirmation was advanced from the joint meeting of the House and
Senate Judiciary Standing Committees.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committees, the joint
meeting of the House and Senate Judiciary Standing Committees
was adjourned at 1:52 p.m.
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