Legislature(2001 - 2002)
03/06/2002 01:43 PM Senate JUD
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
March 6, 2002
1:43 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Robin Taylor, Chair
Senator John Cowdery
Senator Gene Therriault
MEMBERS ABSENT
Senator Dave Donley, Vice Chair
Senator Johnny Ellis
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
Confirmation Hearings:
Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar - William A. Granger
Board of Judicial Conduct - Jeffrey M. Feldman
Violent Crimes Compensation Board - Leslie D. Bogda Wheeler
CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action.
WITNESS REGISTER
William Granger
13810 Jarvi Drive
Anchorage, AK 99515
Jeffrey M. Feldman
Suite 400
500 L St.
Anchorage, AK
Leslie D. Bogda Wheeler
P.O. Box 878885
Wasilla, AK 99687
ACTION NARRATIVE
TAPE 02-08, SIDE A
CHAIRMAN ROBIN TAYLOR called the Senate Judiciary Committee
meeting to order at 1:43 p.m. Present were Senator Cowdery,
Senator Therriault and Chairman Taylor. He announced there were
three confirmation hearings before the committee.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said the first confirmation hearing would be for
the Board of Governors for the Alaska Bar Association (Bar). He
asked Mr. William Granger to give a brief synopsis of his
experience.
MR. WILLIAM GRANGER said he was a lifetime Alaskan educated in
Alaska. He was a banker and had been in the banking industry for
over 30 years. As a banker he had a great deal of contact with
members of the Alaska Bar mainly in commercial transactions,
bankruptcy transactions and some construction litigation and
personal injury litigation. He was involved with various firms
and private practitioners and had seen the gamete of experience
and professionalism from one end to the other. He found this
would be a good way to share his vast experience from dealing
with many members of the Bar in improving the quality of the Bar
from an educational standpoint and a moral standpoint.
SENATOR COWDERY said he had heard Mr. Granger was Vice President
of National Bank of Alaska (NBA). He asked if that was Wells
Fargo now.
MR. GRANGER said National Bank of Alaska was acquired by Wells
Fargo. He was no longer with them because he retired at the end
of 2001 as a Senior Vice President of Wells Fargo Bank, Alaska
and the Senior Regional Credit Officer in Alaska.
SENATOR COWDERY said he had been in Alaska since 1950 and did a
little bit of flying also. He had heard Mr. Granger was a
private pilot. He asked if he still flew.
MR. GRANGER said he did. He owned a PA 14 and flew as much as he
could. He had put ten hours on it the previous weekend.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if he was a conservative, moderate or
liberal.
MR. GRANGER said if he had to put a tag on it he would probably
be a conservative. It kind of depended on the subject.
SENATOR COWDERY said he was a conservative. He said Mr. Granger
had a concealed weapon permit.
MR. GRANGER believed he was one of the very first people in
Alaska to get a concealed weapon permit.
SENATOR COWDERY said he was in the process of getting one. After
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September 11 people had started thinking about that more
strongly than before. He said they had a problem a few years
earlier with pilots carrying weapons in their plane.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked him for an idea of his educational
background. He asked if he had a law or business finance
background.
MR. GRANGER said he had an interesting educational background.
He attended Dimond High School and decided they were not teaching
him fast enough. He dropped out of high school and went to
Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington for a few years. While
there he watched friends graduate and not be able to find good
jobs so he went back to Alaska. He had taken dozens of different
banking classes and was currently enrolled in a Pacific Coast
Banking School out of the University of Washington. He was in
his second year of a three year masters program. He said he was
a believer in the educational process. He had not obtained any
formal degrees but studied law and bankruptcies. His high school
time was spent working in a bank or living in the law library.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said David Bundy was listed in Mr. Granger's
references. He asked if Mr. Bundy used to be with Guess and Rudd
PC.
MR. GRANGER said David Bundy was with Guess and Rudd PC and one
of the finest bankruptcy lawyers in town. Mr. Bundy was the past
president of the Bar Association. Mr. Granger said he thought a
lot of him.
SENATOR TAYLOR asked Mr. Granger he had been on the board for a
two or three year term.
MR. GRANGER said he had been on the board for six months or more.
He said the position was a three year term with an option to
renew for three years.
SENATOR TAYLOR said correct. Mr. Granger was appointed in June
of 2001.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said he recently had a conversation and had
not had a chance to track down information but it was his
understanding that the Bar Association currently has on account
in excess of a million dollars. He said he did not know if that
was just their operating fund or a holding account they have
generated over the years from the Bar fees. He asked, since Mr.
Granger had been there for awhile, what he could tell him about
that.
MR. GRANGER said that number was approximately correct and had
been substantially derived through Bar fees. It was a planned
event to avoid the raising of Bar fees in the near future.
Projections over the next few years showed that excess would be
decreasing as planned. The Bar Association would not have to
adjust Bar fees for extended periods of times. He thought it
would be eight years. There is an excess to their current
operating needs at the moment but they are going to be eaten
away.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked why it would be eaten away. Generally
most boards and commissions set their yearly fees so it covers
their expected general operating experience. When they have an
extraordinary expense, some kind of litigation, their fees are
adjusted for the next couple of years to cover that cost. Now
Mr. Granger was indicating that for some reason the fees were
adjusted to build up this pool of money and it would be eroded
over time. He asked if they were anticipating some expense that
is going to do that or are they going to be adjusting the annual
Bar fees down.
MR. GRANGER said to the best of his knowledge there was no plan
to adjust the annual Bar fees down. He believed the operating
expenses and the planned activities of the Bar Association are
going to be using up that excess over the next several years.
The Bar, like everyone, has increasing expenses from one year to
the next. The Bar Association will be doing some exciting things
in the area of providing services to its members particularly in
the area of research. He thought the membership was going to
receive a great deal more service than it had in the past for
their dues.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the concern was brought to him by an
attorney who asked why they were paying more than they need to.
The attorney wanted to know the reason the Bar Association had a
million dollars, some of which was his money.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said most boards and commissions have to
adjust the fees on an annual basis. They have to explain and
give a justification to the individuals that pay for the service
on exactly what they are getting for that fee. There is a little
bit of consternation that the Bar Association had been able to
amass roughly a million dollars out of people who are paying
their $400 or $450 annual fee.
MR. GRANGER said there was no doubt it was a very hot topic and
one that was discussed heatedly at every Bar convention. He
expected the upcoming convention to be no exception.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said there was some allegation that they were
on thin ice in the way the Bar Association is treated differently
than every other board and commission. He said if they wanted to
fight with somebody over legal issues they would not necessarily
want to take on the Bar Association. He said it was an item that
had been brought to his attention.
MR. GRANGER said it was a very sensitive area for all the members
of the Bar. He did not have a great deal of history but had
looked at the million dollars like Senator Therriault. He had
asked why it was there, how did it get there, what is the plan
for it, why are they not giving it back and why aren't they
lowering the dues. Those questions are constantly asked.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thanked Mr. Granger for volunteering for the
service and providing them with the candid responses.
SENATOR COWDERY moved the letter approving Mr. William Granger to
the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar Association be sent
forward to the joint body of the legislature. There being no
objection the letter will issue.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Mr. Jeffrey Feldman, candidate for the
Commission on Judicial Conduct, to give the committee his
background and some of his experience in these matters.
MR. JEFFREY FELDMAN said he was a lawyer and was seeking another
term on the Commission on Judicial Conduct. He had previously
served two terms on the commission. He had been in Alaska since
1975 practicing law, a mixed civil and criminal practice. He had
previously served as the President of the Bar Association,
President of Trial Lawyers Association, and had sat on several
other related professional organizations.
MR. FELDMAN said he had a committed interest in the system of
justice and judicial discipline in particular. He thought it was
an important function that the state fulfills. During his tenure
he had attempted to work with the other members on the commission
who are a combination of lawyers, non-lawyers and judges towards
increasing both the speed in which cases are resolved, opening
the process up to the public to the greatest extent permissible
and increasing what he regarded as the professionalism by which
the tasks of the commission are addressed. He said he would be
happy to serve another term if that was the will of the
committee.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thought if Senator Donley were there he would ask
the following questions. Senator Donley and Chairman Taylor had
worked with Dana Fabe and the Alaska Supreme Court to try and get
a little more timeliness out of their orders and to see to it
that cases don't languish after they had been argued before the
Supreme Court Justices. He said it was his understanding from
Justice Fabe's latest speech that the Alaska Supreme Court is in
the process of developing timelines and processes by which they
will make a more rapid decision. There are cases that have been
pending for over two years after final oral argument. He asked
if that was an issue the commission had looked into.
MR. FELDMAN said they had not looked at it in an abstract way.
Like any other adjudicated body their mission is to resolve
specific cases and complaints that are filed with the commission.
If someone files a grievance or complaint with the commission
alleging delay on the part of a judge or alternatively if the
commission becomes independently aware of delay and initiates a
complaint on its own motion, which sometimes happens, then in
that specific instance they will take it up and review it but it
is not their jurisdiction to undertake a study of the entire
system and how the courts are behaving in a local way.
Their mission by constitutional provision is to enforce the Code
of Judicial Conduct. There are instances in which judicial delay
can rise to the level of being the equivalent of an unethical act
by a judge, which is what would have to happen before it would
come before their commission. Not every slow decision or every
delay falls within that realm. They had cases where people had
complained of extreme delay. They looked at them and issued
cautionary letters and issued minor sanctions in some instances.
They are dependant upon individuals filing specific complaints
with them and then they act on them. Judicial delay is a matter
the commission is deeply concerned about. During the time he
has been on the commission it has been an area where his
colleagues and he had focused their own efforts in terms of
making sure their own house was in order, processing their own
claims on their own cases timely before demanding that anyone
else do the same. They are not in any respect insensitive to the
issue.
MR. FELDMAN appreciated the concern Chairman Taylor and Senator
Donley had towards dealing with this issue with the Alaska
Supreme Court because anytime they have one body of government,
the legislative body, calling into question the performance of
another body of government, that being the judicial body, there
are areas of separation of powers that make it difficult for some
of those issues to be ironed out very easily. He knew it was an
issue that Chief Justice Fabe is deeply concerned and committed
to. He thought she had in place for sometime a committee devoted
solely to the issue of appellate delay and trying to speed up the
timeline in the resolution of those cases. He assured them if a
complaint were to be lodged with his commission they would take
it seriously.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said the other matter he was sure would be
inquired of was the commission's case filings and complaint
filings over the last three years. He asked if they were seeing
an increase in filings against judges for improper conduct or is
it flat or going down.
MR. FELDMAN did not have the statistics with him but had looked
at them during a meeting a couple of weeks previously so they
were somewhat fresh in his mind. He said the total statistics
had stayed relatively flat for several years.
They get a lot of complaints each year many of which are not
within the jurisdiction of the commission. For example they get
dozens and dozens of complaints from prisoners, defendants in
criminal cases, typically people in custody who are not happy
with the decisions that were reached in their cases. Those are
obviously not complaints within their jurisdiction. They are not
an appellate court and are not there to second guess whether a
judge decided the case correctly or incorrectly. They get a lot
of complaints that are not within their jurisdiction and get
turned away without a lot of attention by the commission. The
number of complaints they receive that are within their
jurisdiction has stayed relatively flat.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if they had had many serious cases in the
last three years requiring either private or public sanctions.
MR. FELDMAN said on the average they had what he regarded as one
or two major cases a year. He defined a major case as a case
resulting in a public hearing and a public level of discipline.
The Alaska Supreme Court then ultimately reviews it because by
constitution the commission can make recommendations on public
discipline on judges but only the Alaska Supreme Court has the
authority to actually impose that discipline. They have one or
two major cases a year.
They have a half dozen or so medium size cases, which are cases
that do not result in public hearings but do result in some form
of reprimand or censure that is reached by stipulation with the
judge who has committed the violation. They have a dozen or so
cases a year that result in minor letters of caution or private
reprimands for minor infractions. They get some number each year
of instances that are not found to be actual violations of the
code but where there is still something at issue that is a matter
of concern to the commission. They engage in some private
counseling with the judge to bring to his or her attention an
incident that causes some concern though it may not constitute an
actual violation of the code.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if when he finished his current term would
he have served eight years.
MR. FELDMAN said he should know whether his terms were three or
four years each but he had served two terms. He said it felt
like more than that to him.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if he were confirmed would this be his
third three year term or would it be his third four year term.
MR. FELDMAN said he thought it was three years but he might be
wrong.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR thanked Mr. Feldman for the three years of
service he had provided to the state and especially thanked him
for volunteering to continue in that matter. He thought it was
important they had continuity within boards of this type that can
provide experience and background to new members.
SENATOR THERRIAULT explained a number of attorneys came to him
expressing concern over the way the court system in rural
locations conducts themselves. He asked if that was an
administrative function that the commission would not get into or
would the commission be an area that individual attorneys can
come and express some concern and frustration to.
MR. FELDMAN said anybody that has a concern about the performance
of a judge can and should bring those concerns to the commission.
Some of those concerns fall in their jurisdiction and some don't
so they can't address every type of complaint that comes before
them. They receive complaints that involve the performance of
judges both in urban and rural areas that are within their
jurisdiction and they do act on them. They get a fair number of
complaints each year that he regarded as demeanor complaints,
complaints that a judge said something or behaved in a certain
way in a judicial proceeding that caused someone to feel offended
or concerned. It may have risen to the level of being unethical
conduct on the part of the judge so they would take action on it.
Even if it wasn't unethical that is the kind of complaint where
they would engage in some counseling because they believe
strongly that judges should act judiciously and treat everybody
with respect. If they don't it is proper for someone to discuss
it with the judge.
MR. FELDMAN said they are receptive to receiving complaints but
there is a judicial code and their mission is to enforce that
code. If conduct that is the source of a complaint falls outside
of that code they are not going have the authority to act on it.
They can take informal steps and refer things to the presiding
judge for action by the court system. They do what they can when
things are outside their jurisdiction but sometimes things are
just beyond what they have the authority to deal with.
SENATOR THERRIAULT asked if somebody comes to them with a concern
is it kept in confidence.
MR. FELDMAN answered yes and no. During the investigatory stage
the commission's files are closed and not available to the
public. Judges are not informed of the names or identities of
those who complain against them. If the complaint rises to the
level of establishing probable cause to believe the judge
committed a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct then at
that point it is made a public matter. The public has a right to
observe and participate in the proceedings and look at the file
and the press can report on it. At that point the person that
filed the complaint is going to be identified. The substance of
the complaint will be identified as well because the judge has to
be given an opportunity to respond to it. That only happens once
it has been determined it is a complaint within the jurisdiction
within the commission and that there is probable cause to believe
that a violation was committed.
MR. FELDMAN thanked Chairman Taylor. He said the Commission on
Judicial Conduct is a very strong commission, especially the lay
members that had been appointed and the legislature had
confirmed. It is a very strong commission and is a pleasure to
work with the members.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said that was good. He said Mr. Feldman had
lengthy experience and was speaking from that experience. He
said it was good to hear they had a strong commission because it
breeds confidence in the credibility of the entire system and
especially of the judicial system.
SENATOR COWDERY moved the letter approving Mr. Jeffrey Feldman to
the Commission on Judicial Conduct be sent forward for
confirmation by the full body of the legislature. There being no
objection the letter will issue.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Leslie D. Bogda Wheeler from Wasilla to
make an opening comment on the Violent Crimes Compensation Board
and her experiences there.
MS. LESLIE BOGDA WHEELER said she was currently the Chair of the
Violent Crimes Compensation Board. They provide compensation to
victims of violent crimes in the State of Alaska. She is the
public member and there is also a doctor and an attorney position
on the board.
She believed she had been on the board since 1995. She was
appointed to complete a term and thought she had served two three
year terms.
SENATOR COWDERY said his information was that she was first
appointed 5/15/96 and reappointed on 12/11/98.
MS. BOGDA WHEELER thanked Senator Cowdery and said it goes by so
quickly she had not paid much attention to how long it had been.
She said the board was looking forward to the increased limits of
assistance they can provide in July 2002. As a rule they don't
provide the full amount of assistance available to victims.
There are however instances in which they cannot compensate
anywhere near what the loss, as a result of their crime, had been
even after insurance and personal means were exhausted. She was
very please that the legislature, in their wisdom, chose to make
that decision.
MS. BOGDA WHEELER said the Alaska Violent Crimes Compensation
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Board had prepared, prior to September 11, for the event of
terrorism occurring within the state. There was some comfort
that they were prepared for that type of incident. The President
of the National Association of Crime Victims Compensation Boards,
in his quarterly news letter to the body, mentioned "Never
Forget," the motto that was placed on the television screen on
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the three month anniversary of September 11. In his statement
he wanted everyone to remember that even in these events of
terrorism where they have a large body of people who have
humongous losses the other victims of crime still exist. If they
don't maintain their services for all victims of crime those
individuals also become victims of that greater crime. She
thought that was an interesting point of view and one that she
will keep with her as they go into the future should she be
reappointed.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said they appreciated the years of service she
had provided to the state. He said he could only imagine that
these have to be heart wrenching tales and situations that she
and board had to deal with. He was proud that they can provide a
group of people like her to screen folks and provide some token
of assistance and compensation to them. He appreciated that she
was there and could provide continuity to the board with some
institutional knowledge on how victims and crime had been treated
over the tenure she had been on the board.
MS. BOGDA WHEELER thanked the Judiciary Committee for their time
and interest in the Violent Crimes Compensation Board and sent
her appreciation to the legislature for the support they gave
victims in the State of Alaska.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said he worked closely with Representative Ramona
Barnes when they tried to take Permanent Fund Dividends away from
convicted felons and give it to the Violent Crimes Compensation
Board. Lawsuits had happened and they did not get to give them
that money but he knew the money they did get to the board really
helped.
MS. BOGDA WHEELER said they receive letters occasionally from
victims who had been assisted and they are very heartwarming and
made it all worthwhile.
SENATOR COWDERY moved the letter approving Ms. Leslie D. Bogda
Wheeler to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board be sent forward
for confirmation by the full body of the legislature. There
being no objection the letter will issue.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR adjourned the meeting at 2:16 p.m.
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