Legislature(2011 - 2012)BELTZ 105 (TSBldg)
03/23/2011 01:30 PM Senate JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| Confirmation Hearings | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
March 23, 2011
1:37 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Hollis French, Chair
Senator Bill Wielechowski, Vice Chair
Senator Joe Paskvan
Senator Lesil McGuire
Senator John Coghill
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Alaska Police Standards Council
Mark Mew
Richard Burton
CONFIRMATIONS ADVANCED
Violent Crimes Compensation Board
Nora Barlow
CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct
Amy Demboski
CONFIRMATION ADVANCED
Alaska Judicial Council
Donald J. Haase
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record.
WITNESS REGISTER
MARK MEW, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
RICHARD BURTON, Appointee
Alaska Police Standards Council
Ketchikan, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska Police
Standards Council.
NORA BARLOW, Appointee
Violent Crimes Compensation Board
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Violent
Crimes Compensation Board.
AMY DEMBOSKI, Appointee
Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct
Chugiak, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska
Commission on Judicial Conduct.
DAVID HAEG, representing himself
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on the appointment of Ms.
Demboski to the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct.
THOMAS STEPNOSKI, representing himself
Kenai, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified on the appointment of Ms.
Demboski to the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct.
DONALD J. HAASE, Appointee
Alaska Judicial Council
Valdez, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified as appointee to the Alaska
Judicial Council.
LARRY COHN, Executive Director
Alaska Judicial Council
Anchorage, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Explained what area representation means
and the history of that qualification for the public members of
the Alaska Judicial Council.
TERRY MILLER, representing herself and as managing editor
Ketchikan Daily News
Ketchikan, AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Testified in support of maintaining area
representation when appointing members to the Alaska Judicial
Council.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:37:50 PM
CHAIR HOLLIS FRENCH called the Senate Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:37 p.m. Present at the call to
order were Senators Wielechowski, Paskvan, and French.
^CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
1:38:11 PM
CHAIR FRENCH announced that the business before the committee
would be board confirmation hearings.
Alaska Police Standards Council
1:38:20 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Mew to tell the committee about his
interest in serving on the Police Standards Council.
1:39:15 PM
MARK MEW, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council (APSC),
said he's the chief at the Anchorage Police Department (APD) and
has been in that position for about 14 months. This will be his
second term and he believes that part of why he was asked to
step forward was to provide representation from a larger city.
The council reviews certification and decertification issues and
Anchorage can help other departments set common goals and
standards for police conduct. We generate a lot of that business
and the council would like our input, he stated.
CHAIR FRENCH pointed out that there are 13 members on the Alaska
Police Standards Council. Eleven members are appointed by the
governor and stand for confirmation. The commissioners of public
safety and corrections are the other two members and they are
confirmed in separate proceedings. He asked Mr. Mew if it's
correct that he's been serving for about a year, but hasn't gone
through the confirmation process.
CHIEF MEW said that's correct and he isn't sure how that came
about. He's attended a couple of council telephonic sessions,
but this is his first confirmation hearing.
CHAIR FRENCH asked him to compare the disciplinary processes
when he is acting as police chief and as a member of the APSC.
1:43:14 PM
SENATOR COGHILL joined the hearing.
CHIEF MEW explained that the typical scenario when APD has a
disciplinary matter is that they've decided to terminate an
officer for some misconduct. They fill out paperwork and notify
APSC that the person is no longer employed as an officer and
they check a box if they believe that the conduct warranted
decertification. After receiving the paperwork, APSC conducts a
preliminary investigation to see if they agree with the
recommendation and the former employee has the option to
voluntarily relinquish their certificate or ask to have the case
heard. He said that the department would submit documents
supporting its action and at that point he would recuse himself
from a vote if it were his former employee.
He stated that regardless of whether he's on the council or not,
his job as chief is to provide the APSC any information it wants
in order to make its evaluation. As a member of the APSC he
would look at decertification requests from other departments.
If the APSC decides that decertification isn't warranted, the
officer is free to move to a different department and maintain
his or her certification. A certification becomes inactive after
a year or so if the person doesn't work in law enforcement
1:45:36 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to discuss the Rollins case and
what was done at APD in terms of changing protocol in order to
discourage that type of activity.
CHIEF MEW said the Rollins affair is a tragedy for both the
community and the APD. The APD has moved to decertify Mr.
Rollins and it's a pending case that will probably be dealt with
at the May meeting. He said that while he was employed at the
school district he read about the case in the papers and since
he returned to the APD he's learned more of the history on how
it came about. He noted that the case goes back to shortly after
he left the department in 2003. The APD has publicly
acknowledged that there was conduct early-on that was incorrect,
but the relationships were consensual. He was disciplined but
there wasn't enough for a criminal case. The second round of his
conduct, however, was criminal and in that case six victims were
identified and he's been convicted on five.
As a result of that case the APD has improved the sergeant to
officer ratio so there will be better and more consistent
supervision. They've also made changes in how they supervise
overtime detail because the cases that generated Mr. Rollins'
criminal convictions were done on that shift. That loop has been
closed and overtime details are more closely supervised. The APD
has also introduced internal affairs software to track conduct
and allegations at a threshold level regardless of whether an
officer moves from department to department or stays in one
location. It's an early warning system. They are also looking at
options to install additional cameras at substations.
1:51:41 PM
CHAIR FRENCH pointed out that Chief Mew has over 20 years of
service with the APD, he attended the FBI academy, and has a
bachelors' degree in anthropology. He seems highly qualified to
serve on the APSC.
1:52:00 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved to forward the name Mark Mew to the
full Legislature sitting in joint session for a vote. There
being no objection, it was so ordered.
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Burton to tell the committee about his
interest in continuing to serve on the Alaska Police Standards
Council.
1:53:03 PM
RICHARD BURTON, Appointee, Alaska Police Standards Council
(APSC), said he is a retired commissioner and is interested in
serving to improve training, supervision, and management. He's
been involved with this since before there was a council. When
he was initially hired he received no training and he realized
that this could be problematic. New hires were fingerprinted and
their prints were sent to the FBI, but the department wouldn't
hear back for about six months. This bothered him so he and
others developed training and background checks in 1971. He's
worked at both the state and federal level and has seen how law
enforcement works in other areas. His interest is that one size
doesn't fit all and there is always need for additional
training. Discipline and misconduct is important but it usually
comes from lack of background checks and training.
1:59:25 PM
CHAIR FRENCH said he doesn't know of anyone who has a broader
and more remarkable resume in public safety. Mr. Burton joined
the Alaska State Troopers in 1959, served twice as the
commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, was the chief
of police for the City and Borough of Juneau, visited Russia in
conjunction with public safety, and was a guest of the Turkish
government at an international meeting of 31 countries to
discuss international extraditions. He thanked Mr. Burton for
continuing to serve.
2:00:31 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said the Legislature has tried to get tough on
crime in some areas and increasing penalties to a felony seem to
be the preferred tool. He asked if that's a discretionary
problem from the APSC perspective.
MR. BURTON said it is a discretionary problem, but it also
depends on the Department of Law (DOL) that has to prosecute
cases. He'd like to give village courts certain jurisdiction and
let people have some say over the conduct in their community.
Things would run more smoothly and be more financially
efficient.
SENATOR COGHILL said he likes the idea of community
accountability and he'll give that serious thought.
MR. BURTON offered to follow up on the conversation.
SENATOR COGHILL said he'd appreciate that.
2:03:49 PM
CHAIR FRENCH found no further questions and solicited a motion.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved to forward the name Richard Burton to
the full Legislature sitting in joint session for a vote. There
being no objection, it was so ordered.
Violent Crimes Compensation Board
2:04:50 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked Ms. Barlow to tell the committee about her
interest in serving on the Violent Crimes Compensation Board
(VCCB).
NORA BARLOW, Appointee, Violent Crimes Compensation Board, said
she is an attorney with DeLisio Moran Geraghty & Zobel and has
been serving on the Violent Crimes Compensation Board for one
year. She took over the position designated for an attorney when
Leroy Barker retired, and didn't know what she was getting into
but she has enjoyed the service. She would like to continue
working with the board. The work is important and fits well with
her background as a lawyer and her desire to serve the
community.
2:06:12 PM
CHAIR FRENCH disclosed that Ms. Barlow is his neighbor. He
pointed out that she was formerly an assistant attorney general
and since has been in private practice. He asked how often the
board has met.
MS. BARLOW answered they've met once every three months. There
is a meeting coming up this Sunday and they have 100 claims to
consider. The board also comes to Juneau once a year to meet
with legislators. The time commitment is not overly burdensome
considering the service that's provided.
CHAIR FRENCH asked how long a typical meeting would last.
MR. MARLOW answered about eight hours. She added that the VCCB
makes emergency awards up to $5,000. They can handle 20 to 30
claims during the period between meetings.
CHAIR FRENCH pointed out that the board has three members;
including one physician and one attorney.
2:08:44 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said he's always interested in hearing about the
legal barriers for crime victims and he's open to discussion if
she sees anything.
MR. BARLOW said one discussion is if VCCB can be involved with
the SANE/SART exams, which are the exams that occur after there
has been an allegation of sexual assault or sexual abuse. It's
not simple to get authority to get involved in different things,
but there is interest in the issue. She isn't sure if a
comprehensive proposal has been made, but that would be helpful.
She's more interested in the implementation. She provided an
example of a divorce that had associated domestic violence and
the victim didn't know about the VCCB even though she was
involved with the criminal justice system. There might not be a
legal fix, but getting information out about what VCCB can do
for victims is the biggest hurdle at this point. It is hard to
distribute the information and get it to the right people.
2:12:59 PM
SENATOR COGHILL said he would keep that in mind.
CHAIR FRENCH found no further questions and solicited a motion.
2:13:14 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved to forward the name Nora G. Barlow to
the full Legislature sitting in joint session for a vote. There
being no objection, it was so ordered.
Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct
2:13:36 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked Ms. Demboski to tell the committee about her
interest in serving on the Alaska Commission on Judicial
Conduct.
AMY DEMBOSKI, Appointee, Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct,
said she's been involved in public service for 20 years and
recently decided she would like to serve on a board or
commission.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if she had attended any commission meetings.
MS. DEMBOSKI answered she attended the public portion of the
meeting on February 28, the day before her term started.
CHAIR FRENCH noted that the Alaska Commission on Judicial
Conduct is made up of nine members, six appointed by the
governor, including three public members who are not judges,
three attorneys who have practiced law in Alaska for ten years,
and three justices and judges elected by the judges of state
courts.
2:15:58 PM
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked what piqued her interest in this
commission.
MS. DEMBOSKI said she received a degree in criminal justice and
history several years ago. For many years she thought she wanted
to go into law enforcement. Now she feels she could serve the
public in a different capacity. She finds the subject
interesting and feels she could benefit the community.
SENATOR PASKVAN said the emphasis in her resume seemed to be in
the dental field. He asked what she would focus on
accomplishing.
MS. DEMBOSKI said she is in dental office management and is a
problem solver. She imagines the issues will be the same; gather
facts and make a fair assessment. In this case the statutes are
guiding. She believes that she brings common sense and problem
solving skills to the commission. She views the position as
being an advocate for the state, and for the people of Alaska.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if there are instances that she's
seen of judicial conduct that should have been punished, or that
was punished that should not have been.
MS. DEMBOSKI replied she is unbiased because she doesn't know
any judges, has no axe to grind, and is not a cynic. Generally
she believes the judges are good people who are trying to do the
best they can. People do sometimes act inappropriately or
illegally, and if they do they should be held accountable.
2:20:09 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked if she had had any contact with the judicial
system.
MS. DEMBOSKI answered the most contact is that she observed some
trials, as a class assignment.
2:20:57 PM
DAVID HAEG, representing himself, read a letter, as follows:
My name is David Haeg and I represent myself and my
family.
I thank the Senate Judiciary Committee for the
opportunity to speak today.
Ms. Demboski has stated that she applied to be a
member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct because
she is a public-minded individual with an interest in
the law and, as such, wants to ensure fair and
equitable treatment for all parties involved in court
cases.
Given this assurance on her part, I would hope that if
evidence of malfeasance on the part of a judge, the
commission and/or its sole investigator came to light
that she would follow up on this evidence and see that
the matter is fully vetted and not swept under the
carpet, especially if the information was forwarded to
the Commission by a Superior Court Judge and also
provided to the Ombudsman.
I look forward to hearing her thoughts on this issue
and trust that if confirmed she will not fall prey to
the "good ol'boy mentality" of cronyism in the face of
judicial corruption and investigatory negligence.
Again, thank you to the Chair and the Committee
members for taking my comments.
2:22:24 PM
THOMAS STEPNOSKI, representing himself, Kenai, said he met Ms.
Demboski at the last AJCC hearing and he was impressed with her
testimony before the House. He asked her to always use common
sense.
2:23:46 PM
CHAIR FRENCH closed public testimony.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI moved to forward the name Amy Demboski to
the full body for consideration.
CHAIR FRENCH announced that without objection Ms. Demboski's
name would be forwarded to a joint meeting of the House and
Senate for confirmation.
Alaska Judicial Council
2:24:17 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Haase to state his name and affiliation,
if any, and his interest in serving on the Alaska Judicial
Council.
2:24:46 PM
DONALD J. HAASE, Appointee, Alaska Judicial Council, Valdez
stated that he first visited Alaska in 1972 and never left. He
has worked for various contractors at the Valdez marine terminal
since 1995; currently he is working as an electrical designer to
upgrade the pipeline's fire protection system. His experience
with the court is limited to two separate adoptions, one-time
service as a juror, and one mandatory appearance for a speeding
ticket. His interest in the position stems from his political
science degree that included several prelaw classes, which gave
him a firm grasp of how the system is designed to work and why
it is set up as it is. He related that he has served as a Valdez
planning and zoning commissioner since 2004. In this capacity he
has participated in public hearings and discussions. He would
take public testimony, weigh arguments from all sides of an
issue, and chose the strongest. In addition he brings the
experience of having run a political campaign for House District
12 to the table. This provided an opportunity to speak with a
large number of people on a diverse variety of topics. He
pledged to be an unbiased, thoughtful, and considerate judge if
confirmed.
2:27:40 PM
CHAIR FRENCH pointed out that the Alaska Judicial Council is
made up of seven members, each of whom are appointed for a six-
year term. The council is comprised of three non-attorney
members who are appointed by the Governor with regard to area
representation and without regard to political affiliation;
three attorneys who are appointed by the Alaska Bar Association;
and the Chief Justice who sits ex-officio and as chair. Only the
non-attorney members appear before the Legislature for
confirmation. He noted that he asked Mr. Cohn from the Judicial
Council to be available to answer questions about the area
representation issue. This nomination is a concern, he said,
because the person who is leaving the council is from Ketchikan
and Mr. Haase is from Valdez.
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Haase if he thinks that the Alaska courts
skew to the liberal side, the conservative side, or the middle.
MR. HAASE replied they do a fairly good job of representing
Alaskans. Very few judges are voted off the court when they're
reviewed.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if he's saying that they're politically
aligned with the rest of the state.
MR. HAASE answered yes.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he had an opinion on how Alaska
appoints its judges and if the process should be changed.
MR. HAASE responded that he's read the Constitutional Convention
minutes about the potential for political tampering in the
election process and more and more he's come to believe that
this is a good way to appoint judges. However, he didn't see any
evidence of that in Michigan where he was raised so he wouldn't
be opposed to changing the process. He added that while he is
committed to working through the current process, he could also
support changing to the federal process where the president
appoints whomever he wants and the Senate confirms the
appointment.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he would work to change the
constitution in this regard if he were to be appointed.
MR. HAASE answered he didn't have that in mind when he applied
for the position. Changing the process would require an
amendment to the constitution and being on the commission
probably wouldn't help at all, he added.
2:31:21 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked him to comment on the fact that his
website that identified his core beliefs was recently taken
down.
MR. HAASE replied he had a campaign website for the recent
primary election and he closed that in order to close out his
Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) paperwork.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if part of the purpose was to deny the
public or the Legislature accesses to information about his core
beliefs.
MR. HAASE answered no.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he had made comments about potentially
barring the judiciary from considering certain constitutional
challenges.
MR. HAASE asked if that was in a questionnaire he filled out
because he didn't recall that reference.
SENATOR PASKVAN responded it's in your status as president of
Eagle Forum Alaska.
MR. HAASE asked if he's referring to the Eagle Forum blog.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he is president of Eagle Forum Alaska.
MR. HAASE answered no. "I was until I took this position and
then I stepped down because I don't see that I have enough time
to do both well," he added.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if in that forum he identified the
judiciary as an imperial judiciary.
MR. HAASE replied, "I don't believe I did."
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he advances that concept, which was set
forth in the blog while he was president of Eagle Forum Alaska.
MR. HAASE responded:
I was only president for about two months and I don't
believe we updated the blog at all while I was
president. Many of the posts to the blog have my name
on them because I was the one that was posting
comments that came in from the public. The way it went
was the president would vet the comments to make sure
there [weren't] cuss words or other violent statements
and that type, and then she would forward them to me
and I posted them just to save her the time of having
to do that. So there will be for probably about two
years worth, just about every comment on there was
posted by me, but you also see in there who actually
wrote it would be in the post.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked what role of the judiciary he believes
should be limited. He added that there were comments on the
Eagle Forum Alaska website that addressed barring the court from
considering certain constitutional challenges. For example, he
said, dealing with the pledge of allegiance, the Ten
Commandments, or the definition of marriage.
MR. HAASE replied he wasn't sure; he didn't write that and
doesn't have that before him.
2:34:42 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that the posting on that
blog is accurate where it calls the judiciary an imperial
judiciary.
MR. HAASE replied:
I believe it can be. If it's allowed to be it could
be, but in Alaska we have standards set up to where we
the people review the judges on a periodic basis
depending on which level we're talking about. So in
that sense no, because we are able to vote them off
the bench so we're still in charge just like we are
over our representatives.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he recalls the other postings on the
blog about felony prosecution of those engaged in extramarital
sexual affairs.
MR. HAASE answered no.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that there should be felony
prosecution of people involved in extramarital affairs.
MR. HAASE replied he doesn't see that that would rise to a
felony level.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if it's a crime.
MR. HAASE answered he doesn't know the law it that regard; it
may be a crime but he doesn't recall that anyone's been
prosecuted for that.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that it should be a crime.
MR. HAASE answered yes; extramarital affairs are harmful. "It's
harmful to children and it's harmful to the spouse who entered a
legally binding agreement to marry the person that's cheating on
them."
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that premarital affairs
should be a crime.
MR. HAASE replied he isn't sure, but it certainly would be up to
the voters. He added:
If it came before me as a vote I probably would vote
for it, I'm not real certain about that. I can see
where it would be a matter for the state to be
involved with because of the spread of disease and the
likelihood that it would cause violence. I can see
legitimate reasons to push that as a crime. But it's
not something that I'm strongly convinced about and
it's certainly not something I'm going to be able to
push through this application. I'm not sure why this
is even coming up.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he would agree that his core beliefs
and attitudes are important since he will have a role in
judgeship appointments.
MR. HAASE said yes, but his political views on any controversial
issue would be irrelevant for two reasons. First, judges don't
make laws and he wouldn't want a judge to take his views and try
to make them into law. The second reason that his political
views are not too important to this appointment is that it would
be a convoluted process for the judicial council to try and
change the law. This isn't the place to change the law and it's
a slim chance that a judge will make a decision on any of these
hot-button issues because they'll be dealing with traffic
violations, domestic disputes, petty crimes, and small claims.
2:39:20 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked what he believes the role of the judiciary
is with respect to majority rule in general.
MR. HAASE replied judges should have a deep respect for the
Legislature, the law, and the constitution. Judges should be
fair and balanced and consider legislative intent and their
personal views should be set aside, he added.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that government has the
power to stop unhealthy choices in the pursuit of happiness.
MR. HAASE replied the government does that all the time. He has
to wear a seatbelt, he can't drive drunk, and the government
dictates at what age people can smoke and drink.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he recalls that the Haase for House
campaign website had a specific section related to pursuit of
happiness.
MR. HAASE said yes.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he recalls that in that section he
said:
The pursuit of happiness is about much more than
acquiring wealth or status. It is about being free to
do whatever God has called you to do. When a person
makes unhealthy choices in the pursuit of happiness,
there is nothing that government can or should do to
make that person happy. There can be no government
guarantee of happiness.
SENATOR PASKVAN again asked if he believes that government has
the power to stop unhealthy choices in the pursuit of happiness.
MR. HAASE clarified that he meant that a person who makes
unhealthy choices will bear the consequences. For example, if he
eats poorly and gets fat he will bear the health risks and
diseases that come with it. What he was getting at is that the
government shouldn't get involved in trying to make him happy.
It's my fault if I make the wrong choice and end up poor and the
government shouldn't hand me your money in order to make me
happy, he stated.
2:42:19 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that diversity in the
judiciary is important.
MR. HAASE answered yes.
CHAIR FRENCH said the issue is if you can set aside your
personal political views when judging the merits of someone who
steps forward to be a judge.
MR. HAASE replied he certainly can. He reiterated that it would
be impractical to push his political views in this venue and it
would be wrong as well. Judges follow the law they don't make
the law. Finally, he said, I'll be taking an oath to try to
prevent political considerations from outweighing fitness in
recommending judgeship and public defender nominations.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he believes that there are
activists judges on the Alaska bench.
MR. HAASE said he can't think of any off the top of his head.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked if he considers any judicial
decisions to have been activist judicial decisions.
MR. HAASE replied he doesn't believe that's relevant because he
would influence judges' decisions in this position. "If I saw a
candidate that I thought for some reason was going to be
activist - that something they said seemed to imply that the
reason they were applying was because they wanted to change the
law, then yes I would probably vote against them based on that,"
he added.
SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked him to give examples of decisions he
deems activist that would therefore make a judge unqualified to
sit on the bench.
2:45:47 PM
MR. HAASE said Roe v. Wade was definitely an activist decision
that was better left to the electoral process. Things like that
where the judiciary makes up a new right would be the things
that would make a judge unqualified.
CHAIR FRENCH asked if he would forward the name of a judge who
was otherwise qualified, but who supported a woman's right to
choose.
MR. HAASE said yes and reiterated his belief that it's unlikely
that a particular judge would rule on an abortion-related case.
The qualities he would look for in a judge are empathy and
knowledge the law. One particular issue wouldn't disqualify
anyone.
CHAIR FRENCH said you have a good understanding of how the
system works, but if confirmed you will have the opportunity to
shape the field of candidates who are seated on the Alaska Court
of Appeals and the Alaska Supreme Court. Things like parental
notification and choice issues come up regularly in those
courts.
2:47:54 PM
MR. HAASE reiterated that one belief wouldn't trump good
qualifications.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if he believes that it would be
appropriate to commit that he would not work to change the
constitution as to the Judicial Council if he was confirmed to
sit on the council.
MR. HAASE replied he could easily commit to that.
SENATOR COGHILL asked if the nonpublic members get the same type
of scrutiny as the public members.
CHAIR FRENCH said the Alaska Bar Association appoints three
attorney members to the council and he would defer to Mr. Cohn
to explain the vetting process.
2:49:33 PM
LARRY COHN, Executive Director, Alaska Judicial Council,
explained that the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar
Association solicits applicants who are members of the bar by
judicial district because of the constitutional requirement for
geographical diversity. For example, if there's an opening in
district 3 they will solicit applicants from among the attorneys
in that district. Attorneys in that district are polled for
feedback as to the applicants' qualifications and with the
benefit of that poll the Board of Governors makes an
appointment. He said he doesn't know what criteria the board
applies because he hasn't been privy to that discussion.
SENATOR COGHILL said he didn't anticipate the line of
questioning that happened today and he'd be interested in
finding out more about the poling. It's probably a valuable line
of questioning, he added.
CHAIR FRENCH said he too has become curious and will try to find
out more about the vetting process used by the Board of
Governors.
2:51:51 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked Mr. Cohn to tell the committee what area
representation means and the history of that qualification for
the public members of the council like Mr. Haase.
MR. COHN said the constitution states that appointments to the
judicial council shall be made with due regard to area
representation to ensure that the council has geographical
diversity. A review of the Constitutional Convention minutes
clearly indicates that the framers intent in that regard was to
ensure familiarity with the legal culture, the judges, and the
applicants within a judicial district. It's also beneficial to
have a diversity of viewpoints on the council and over its 52-
year history the council has had geographical diversity.
2:54:07 PM
CHAIR FRENCH asked how long he's been executive director of the
Alaska Judicial Council.
MR. COHN replied it's been nearly 10 years. His experience is
that they've had a representative on the council from the first,
third, and fourth judicial districts and geographical diversity
has been commonly understood to mean within the judicial
districts. Voters only vote on judges for retention purposes
within their judicial district so that's the way it's been
interpreted. He doesn't recall having members from the second
judicial district. The principle venues in that district are
Nome, Kotzebue, and Bethel and it's very small in terms of court
locations, court cases, and attorneys. During his term as
executive director and historically the council has had
diversity from the other three districts. He noted that the
position to which Mr. Haase has been nominated was previously
occupied by someone from Ketchikan. In the 52-year history of
the judicial council there has had a public member from the
first judicial district in all but two years. Julie Willoughby
currently sits on the council as an attorney member from the
first judicial district.
2:56:42 PM
SENATOR PASKVAN asked Mr. Haase why he didn't include his role
as president of Eagle Forum Alaska on his resume. He noted that
the website indicates that it's closed for maintenance and asked
if it might be reopened after this confirmation process is
completed.
MR. HAASE replied, "The reason it wasn't included is because I
don't believe I was even a president when I filed my
application. I first applied for this position when Kathleen
Tompkins-Miller was appointed, and then my application was still
on file when this appointment came up. So that's why it wasn't
listed. Like I said, I was only president for a couple of months
and then I resigned as soon as I got the call that this position
might be available."
SENATOR PASKVAN pointed out that a resume goes back for years
and then asked how long he had participated in Eagle Forum
Alaska to advance to the position of president.
MR. HAASE recalled that he signed on sometime in 2005 or 2006.
He added that he's sure that the website has been down for over
a year.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked why he didn't include his role in Eagle
Forum Alaska - including the presidency, on his resume.
MR. HAASE replied, "I guess I didn't see it as significant as
far as being on it. As far as being president, I wasn't. Like I
said, I wasn't president so I wouldn't have included that." He
added that he also didn't mention that he is the chair of his
church board and has been for about the same timeframe.
SENATOR PASKVAN asked if there is any thought about reopening
the Eagle Forum Alaska web at some future time.
MR. HAASE replied he didn't know because he didn't maintain the
website. The former president stopped maintaining the website at
least a year ago and he stepped in to help maintain the blog for
a couple of years, but there wasn't much response and it was too
much to maintain for the amount of interest it generated.
3:00:07 PM
CHAIR FRENCH thanked Mr. Haase and announced he would hold the
nomination over to look more deeply into the issue of area
representation.
MR. HAASE said he understands that concern but he would point
out that neither Valdez nor any other Prince William Sound
community has had representation on the council. His appointment
would broaden the representation on the commission. He pointed
out that since statehood judicial district 1 has had 24 people
on the council, judicial district 3 has had 23 people on the
council, and district 4, has had 20 people on the council.
Appointments from these districts has been fairly even while
district 2 has only had 2 appointments in history. "My
appointment is certainly in line with…geographic balance," he
stated.
3:01:50 PM
TERRY MILLER, representing herself, said she is also testifying
as the managing editor of the Ketchikan Daily News. She said her
concern with the appointment of Mr. Haase relates to location
and geographic representation. This appointment is significant
to Southeast Alaska. She pointed out that people from Valdez can
easily get to Anchorage, but it's not easy for people from
Southeast to get anywhere. If Southeast doesn't have
representation on the council it misses getting to know the
people from Southeast that they're judging and people in
Southeast lose the opportunity to give their views on who will
be judging them. It would be a significant lapse if the
Southeast seat isn't maintained, she stated.
3:03:56 PM
There being no further business to come before the committee,
Chair French adjourned the meeting at 3:03 p.m.
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