Legislature(2021 - 2022)GRUENBERG 120
04/28/2021 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
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| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearing(s):|| Alaska Judicial Council | |
| 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
April 28, 2021
1:57 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Matt Claman, Chair
Representative Liz Snyder, Vice Chair
Representative Harriet Drummond
Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Representative David Eastman
Representative Christopher Kurka
Representative Sarah Vance
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
Alaska Judicial Council
Kristie Babcock - Kenai
- CONFIRMATION(S) ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KRISTIE BABCOCK, Appointee
Alaska Judicial Council
Soldotna, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska
Judicial Council.
DONNA GOLDSMITH, Chair
Alaskans for Fair and Independent Courts
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the confirmation
of Appointee to the Alaska Judicial Council.
ELAINE ANDREWS
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified during the hearing on
confirmation of Appointee to the Alaska Judicial Council.
MIESJE STEINKRUGER
Fairbanks, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the confirmation
of Appointee to the Alaska Judicial Council.
MELANIE BAHNKE, President and Chief Executive Officer
Kawerak, Inc.
Nome, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the confirmation
of Appointee to the Alaska Judicial Council.
NICOLE BORROMEO, Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Alaska Federation of Natives
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in opposition to the confirmation
of Appointee to the Alaska Judicial Council.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:57:09 PM
CHAIR MATT CLAMAN called the House Judiciary Standing Committee
meeting to order at 1:57 p.m. Representatives Vance, Drummond,
Snyder, Kreiss-Tomkins, Eastman, and Claman were present at the
call to order. Representative Kurka arrived as the meeting was
in progress.
^CONFIRMATION HEARING(S):
^Alaska Judicial Council
Confirmation Hearing(s)
1:57:51 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN announced that the only order of business would be
the consideration of the Governor's Appointee to the Alaska
Judicial Council.
1:58:04 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN opened public testimony on the confirmation
hearing.
1:58:17 PM
KRISTIE BABCOCK, Appointee, Alaska Judicial Council, shared with
the committee that she was born in Zambia, Africa, and came to
Alaska at the age of one, where she has remained except for her
years at college in the state of Oregon and three years while
employed in the state of Washington. She said that she
graduated from East High School in Anchorage and attended
Willamette University majoring in Spanish and International
Studies. She said that in December 1989, she accepted
employment as an aide in the Alaska State Legislature and
relocated then to Juneau. She stated that she had also worked
for former Alaska Governors Walter Hickel and Frank Murkowski as
the Director of Boards and Commissions. She listed the
locations in Alaska in which she has lived including Anchorage,
Wasilla, Juneau, Kenai, Ninilchik, and Soldotna. She shared
that for the last 25 years to present has been associated with
State Farm Insurance and is currently an agent with licenses in
property, casualty, life, and disability insurance and mortgage
origination and series 6, 63, and 65 securities in the Kenai
Peninsula area. She described her community involvement which
had included work with the Boys and Girls Club and her own
children's soccer programs. She described her blended family
and her community engagement. She expressed her desire for
confirmation as a public member to the Alaska Judicial Council
for its role in judicial oversight and its benefit to society.
She described her knowledge of the council.
2:02:44 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked Ms. Babcock to describe the values
she would seek embodied in judges.
MS. BABCOCK answered that the qualities she would seek are
codified in the bylaws of the council and include professional
competence, written and oral communication skills, diligence,
administrative skills, and temperament, among others.
2:04:03 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN asked whether Ms. Babcock was serving on the
council while awaiting legislative confirmation.
MS. BABCOCK answered that she had been serving on the council
since her appointment on March 1 [2021].
CHAIR CLAMAN asked whether Ms. Babcock had participated in any
meetings of the council or any reviews of any candidates during
the time [since her appointment].
MS. BABCOCK answered that she had not.
CHAIR CLAMAN noted that there had been questions raised
regarding the governor's historical appointment of a third
[nominee] from the Southcentral region. He asked Ms. Babcock to
share her perspective on the appointment of three members from
Southcentral Alaska.
MS. BABCOCK recalled her experience during her tenure with
Boards and Commissions in which she reviewed dozens of
applicants to the Alaska Judicial Council. She stated that in
32 years of her experience in and observation of the council's
[activities], it had never received the level of attention given
to geographic representation as has been currently, to which she
expressed her curiosity. She recalled that, since 1959, the
council has consisted of seven members, three of which are
public members. She stated that there had been occasions in
which certain geographical areas did not have representation on
the council and she had never observed a problem to have existed
[with the lack of geographic representation on the council].
She stated that rural Alaska or rural Northwest Alaska had been
represented [by members on the council] for only 18 of the
council's 62-year history and there existed no public members
from the greater Anchorage municipality for 14 of those years.
She added that no public members from Fairbanks or Interior
Alaska existed [on the council] for 17 years. She added that no
woman had been appointed to the council from the Kenai
Peninsula. She questioned whether opposition to her appointment
pertained to geographic representation. She questioned why
former judges or attorneys would opine on her appointment due to
the Alaska Bar Association's representation consisting of three
seats which are not subject to the legislative confirmation
process. She suggested that the Bar Association address
geographical representation concerns among its membership. She
opined that opposition [based on geographical representation]
was undignified. She expressed her desire to be considered on
her individual merits which include her, and her family, having
lived in multiple geographical areas of the state.
2:08:54 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN asked Ms. Babcock to recall what period of time she
had worked with Boards and Commissions.
MS. BABCOCK answered that it had been during late May or early
June 1991 to 1994, at the end of the Hickel Administration, and
she had worked for eight years under the Knowles Administration
and had been invited to remain on staff from December 2002 to
March of 2003 under the Murkowski Administration.
2:10:11 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN asked whether, during the Knowles Administration,
Ms. Babcock had been working for Boards and Commissions.
MS. BABCOK answered that she had not.
CHAIR CLAMAN asked whether, during Ms. Babcock's time working
for Boards and Commissions, she could recall any instance of
having three [nominees] for the Alaska Judicial Council from the
same geographical region.
MS. BABCOCK answered that she did not know, and she would defer
to Chair Claman's recollection that there had not.
CHAIR CLAMAN clarified that he was seeking to learn whether Ms.
Babcock had a specific recollection of Alaska Judicial Council
nominations during her time with Boards and Commissions.
MS. BABCOCK referred to a ledger which may contain additional
information on geographical representation, from which she had
ascertained periods of time in which there had been the lack of
geographic representations that she had described earlier.
2:11:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA stated that he had learned that attorney
members of the Alaska Judicial Council are based in Fairbanks
and Sitka and suggested that there existed a diverse cross
section of the state [represented on the council]. He asked Ms.
Babcock to elaborate.
MS. BABCOCK shared her understanding that attorney members on
the council were from Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Southeast
Alaska, and public members were from Wasilla, Anchorage, and
Kenai. She stated that the council lacked a member from the
second judicial district. She noted that in March [2022] a
public seat would become open on the council presenting the
governor with the opportunity to appoint another member. She
stated that she had conducted research and found that the Alaska
Bar Association had never appointed an individual who was not
from Fairbanks or Anchorage.
2:14:58 PM
DONNA GOLDSMITH, Chair, Alaskans for Fair and Independent
Courts, testified in opposition to the appointment of Ms.
Babcock to the Alaska Judicial Council. She stated that, should
the appointment be confirmed, all lay members of the council
would be from the same judicial district and from urban areas on
the road system in Southcentral Alaska. She stated that there
existed three additional judicial districts from which
representation could be sought. She urged rejection of the
nomination and state that the Alaska State Constitution directs
appointments made to the council should be made with
consideration of geographic representation. She stated that,
during the constitutional convention, it had been made clear
that a general geographic representation should exist on the
Alaska Judicial Council. She suggested that non-attorney
members from diverse geographical areas would aid in enabling
the council to "have a pulse" of judges in each region by the
member having a personal and community familiarity with judicial
candidates. She suggested that the opposition to Ms. Babcock's
appointment was not based on her individual merits but based on
a lack of geographical representation on the council.
2:18:09 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked Ms. Goldsmith what the geographic
representation is from the second judicial district on the Board
of Governors of the Alaska Bar association.
MS. GOLDSMITH stated that she was not affiliated with the Bar
Association and therefore could not answer.
2:18:54 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN offered that the Bar Association maintains rules
that state from where nominees shall be selected. He added that
the second and fourth judicial districts have been combined for
one seat, and the third and first district each have its own
seat. He stated that the current representative [for the second
judicial district] was Geraldine Simon from Fairbanks. He
offered additional information remains available should
Representative Eastman maintain an interest in learning more.
2:20:23 PM
ELAINE ANDREWS echoed sentiments expressed through previous
written testimony. She stated that the Alaska Judicial Council
has an obligation to conduct studies for the improvement of the
administration of justice and make reports at least every two
years to the Supreme Court and to the Legislature as mandated by
the Alaska State Constitution. She expressed her concern
regarding news reporting that she categorized as "disturbing"
regarding concerns about the administration of justice in rural
Alaska. She suggested that the layperson seats consist of
individuals within only an approximate 250-mile radius. She
urged representation from a rural area. She recalled her
appointment to the Alaska Judicial Council in 1991, when Ms.
Babcock was [employed by] the office of Boards and Commissions,
and there existed representation from Sitka, Anchorage, and
Barrow. She suggested that, at that time, Ms. Babcock had
fulfilled her obligation to put forth nominees that take into
consideration diverse geographic representation on the council.
She expressed that she had no knowledge of any outreach on the
part of Boards and Commissions and her understanding that its
members may be unaware of any constitutional concerns regarding
geographic representation.
2:23:17 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked Ms. Andrews whether she could
recall when the judicial district boundaries had been amended or
changed.
MS. ANDREWS stated her understanding that there had been no
changes to judicial districts since the drafting of the
constitution.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked Ms. Andrews to share her opinion on
the potential impacts of changing population patterns and
whether that should be taken into consideration for any future
redistricting.
MS. ANDREWS stated that there exist only three layperson seats
[on the council] and that there exist four judicial districts
and that there would never exist representation of all four
judicial districts. She suggested that concerns raised were not
those of maintaining representation from the same district, as
represented by the seat that was vacated, but rather an
understanding of the diversity created by the geography in
Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN recalled earlier testimony that [Ms.
Babcock] was the first female appointee from Kenai to the
council. He said that the constitution does not address gender
and asked whether Ms. Andrews felt that it should be considered.
MS. ANDREWS stated that she felt that gender, ethnic, and
geographical diversity should be sought and that diverse
individuals should be actively solicited for their interest in
service.
2:26:59 PM
MIESJE STEINKRUGER stated that she is a 47-year Alaska resident.
She stated that she was a retired superior court judge from the
fourth district and had served in that capacity for 19 years.
She added that she had served for an additional 12 years in [all
four] districts and was now fully retired. She stated that she
had encouraged individuals from the second and fourth districts
to serve on the council. She suggested that there did not exist
significant public interest in service on the council and that
some recruitment had been necessary [to fill the seats]. She
stated that the terms are for 6 years and involve significant
travel and no pay. She added that preparation for council
meetings involved extensive review of materials and that
decisions made by the council are met with public scrutiny. She
said that the Bar Association had institutionalized diversity
[among council appointments] through its bylaws that require
representation from the first, third, and combined second and
fourth districts. She suggested that, while the nomination of
Ms. Babcock was not illegal, there exist suitable candidates
from other geographic regions. She urged the committee to
reject the nomination of Ms. Babcock in favor of a candidate
from a different geographic region. She added that the
districts are not based on population.
2:30:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked Ms. Steinkruger her opinion on the
qualifications of Ms. Babcock without considering geographical
representation [on the council].
MS. STEINKRUGER stated that she assumed Ms. Babcock to be
qualified for the appointment and that her concerns were to
maintain representation of members from more than one district.
2:31:13 PM
MELANIE BAHNKE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kawerak,
Inc. stated that she was a former member of the Alaska
Commission of Judicial Conduct and currently a member of the
Alaska Redistricting Board. She expressed her respect to Ms.
Babcock and urged the committee to consider the constitutional
language that the council shall take into consideration
geographic area representation and without consideration of
political affiliation. She suggested that the 'spirit' of the
law rather than the "letter" of the law be considered. She
suggested that the justice system in Alaska had been met with
"scathing" public scrutiny and opined that diversity and
representation are matters of import. She lauded the prudence
of the constitutional convention's initial geographic division
of judicial districts.
2:34:18 PM
NICOLE BORROMEO, Executive Vice President and General Counsel,
Alaska Federation of Natives, testified in opposition to the
appointment of Ms. Babcock to the Alaska Judicial Council on
behalf of the Alaska Federation of Natives (AFN). She stated
that Article 4, Section 8 of the Alaska State Constitution
mandates area representation. She stated that if the
confirmation of Ms. Babcock were to occur, all three of the non-
attorney seats on the council would be held by individuals from
the same district. She stated that AFN maintains that [the
appointment] would be detrimental to rural districts by
assigning undue power and influence from the urban, non-Native,
third district. She suggested that geographic diversity existed
[in the Constitution] by design and would reduce the likelihood
of "politicizing the bench" and would increase the quality of
applicants [to the council]. She opined that confirmation of a
candidate from a district other than the second district would
undermine the constitutional requirement of area representation.
2:35:53 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN asked whether she or the AFN maintained a
position on the size of the Alaska Judicial Council being seven
members.
MS. BORROMEO stated opposition to any changes to the council.
She stated that the council had been modeled on that of the
State of Missouri and had served its intended function well.
She emphasized AFN's position of full area representation from
all judicial districts. She stated that AFN does not object to
the appointment of Ms. Babcock based on her personal or
professional credentials. She noted earlier testimony stating
that the staggering of council terms would result in a vacancy
in March 2022, and that the governor could nominate Ms. Babcock
for a seat at that time, to which AFN would not be voicing the
same objections.
2:37:34 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN noted that the schedule of appointments would be a
vacancy filled in 2023 and no [planned] vacancy in 2022. He
added that [Ms. Babcock's fellow nominee] David Parker's
nomination, if confirmed, would expire in 2024 and Ms. Babcock's
seat would expire in 2027.
2:38:11 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN ascertained that there was no one else who wished
to testify and closed public testimony
CHAIR CLAMAN recalled Representative Eastman's earlier question
regarding any adjustments to judicial districts and that he had
been informed by the court system that very few adjustments had
been made and had been based on voter precincts and other
matters that he characterized as minor.
2:39:12 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked what process exists for any changes
to judicial districts.
CHAIR CLAMAN expressed that he had been seeking information on
the matter and offered that there had previously existed a map
in the judicial rulebooks depicting the judicial districts and
that he was unable to find information during his research.
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA asked rhetorically whether four judicial
districts were sufficient considering the large geographical
diversity of the state.
2:40:51 PM
REPRESENTATIVE EASTMAN expressed his thanks to individuals who
had taken the time to provide testimony. He also expressed his
curiosity about why the concerns raised were timely when there
had existed previous circumstances under which the concerns may
have been raised.
2:41:43 PM
REPRESENTATIVE KURKA expressed his thanks to individuals who had
taken the time to provide testimony. He stated that he would
continue to conduct research into the issues that had been
raised and stated that he did not share the concerns that had
been expressed.
2:42:10 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER stated that the Alaska Judicial Council
was not the only board or commission that is obliged to take
geographical representation into consideration for nominees.
She stated that, despite her inexperience in voting on nominees
as a freshman representative, she maintains her position as one
of striving to achieve diversity between urban and rural
representation. She suggested that opportunities for
improvement on accepted practices exists.
2:43:15 PM
REPRESENTATIVE DRUMMOND recalled testimony from a member of the
public describing crime in rural Alaska. She suggested that
geographic representation was critical to the function of the
council and that the concerns raised that she shared were not a
reflection on the qualifications of the nominee but were those
of [the lack of] geographical representation.
2:44:20 PM
REPRESENTATIVE VANCE thanked Ms. Babcock for her previous public
service and her willingness to serve in the capacity for which
she is nominated. She lauded Ms. Babcock's professional,
personal, and community reputation and expressed her belief that
Ms. Babcock would be effective if confirmed.
2:45:10 PM
CHAIR CLAMAN suggested that there exist valid concerns regarding
the Bar Association's appointment of council members from the
[combined] second and fourth judicial districts due to the lack
of available appointees from the second district. He suggested
that [nominees historically appointed from the fourth district
for that seat] was understandable because of the larger
applicant pool in the Fairbanks area. He added that nominees
from the first district were from a greater diversity of
communities, and it was less so for the third judicial district
due to the population in Anchorage. He added that the governor
maintains the authority to appoint members from a geographic
diversity and the Bar Association was less adept at doing so.
He suggested that, should Ms. Babcock be confirmed, that there
would be five representatives from the third judicial district
because the council's ex-officio [Alaska Supreme Court] Chief
Justice is from Anchorage. He stated that, while he has had
opportunities to travel to rural communities and represent rural
Alaskans, he did not have direct experience in living in rural
Alaska and expressed his belief was in support the goals of
geographic diversity among the nominees for consideration. He
added that the lived experience of victims of sexual assault and
violent crimes in rural Alaska necessitated representation of
individuals from rural Alaska on the council. He stated that
his concerns were not those of Ms. Babcock's individual
qualifications but those of statewide geographic diversity on
the council. He added that, if confirmed, Ms. Babcock's
appointment to the council would result in the first historic
instance of any single judicial district of all three laypersons
on the council, and that change would amount to one of
significance.
2:49:07 PM
REPRESENTATIVE SNYDER announced that the House Judiciary
Standing Committee has reviewed the qualifications of the
governor's appointee and recommends that the following name be
forwarded to a joint session of the House and Senate for
consideration: Kristie Babcock, Alaska Judicial Council. She
said that signing the report regarding appointments to boards
and commissions in no way reflects an individual member's
approval or disapproval of the appointee, and the nomination is
merely forwarded to the full legislature for confirmation or
rejection.
2:50:03 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska Judicial Council Appointment - Kristie Babcock Application.pdf |
HJUD 4/28/2021 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Alaska Judicial Council Appointment - Kristie Babcock Resume.pdf |
HJUD 4/28/2021 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Alaska Judicial Council Appointment - Supporting Testimony Received by 4.28.2021.pdf |
HJUD 4/28/2021 1:00:00 PM |
|
| Alaska Judicial Council Appointment - Opposition Letters and Testimony Received by 4.28.2021.pdf |
HJUD 4/28/2021 1:00:00 PM |