JOINT SENATE/HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE March 3, 1993 1:47 p.m. MEMBERS PRESENT Senator Robin Taylor, Chairman Senator George Jacko Senator Dave Donley MEMBERS ABSENT Senator Rick Halford, Vice-Chairman Senator Suzanne Little HOUSE MEMBERS PRESENT Representative Brian Porter, Chairman Representative Jeannette James, Vice-Chairman Representative Pete Kott Representative Gail Phillips Representative Joe Green Representative Cliff Davidson Representative Jim Nordlund COMMITTEE CALENDAR CONFIRMATION HEARINGS: William Dam, Board of Governors Alaska Bar Association Carol Eastaugh, Violent Crimes Compensation Board Sara Pearson, Commission on Judicial Conduct John Salemi, Public Defender NO PREVIOUS SENATE COMMITTEE ACTION ACTION NARRATIVE TAPE 93-20, SIDE A Number 001 Chairman Robin Taylor called the Joint Senate/House Judiciary Committee meeting to order at 1:47 p.m. for confirmation hearings. SENATOR TAYLOR introduced WILLIAM DAM, candidate for the Board of Governors of the Alaska Bar Association from Anchorage, who testified off-net from Tacoma, Washington. SENATOR TAYLOR invited MR. DAM to acquaint the committee with himself, and why he was interested in the position. MR. DAM disclosed he had lived in Alaska for 35 years, retired from the military, was a family man with five sons, and had been interested in public service for many years. He has served on the Board of Governors for 8 months since he was appointed last year, but not yet confirmed. MR. DAM said there were 3000 members of the bar association, and he explained the duties of the Board of Governors, such as testing and keeping the lawyers in line. He considered the position an important one and appreciated the chance to serve on the Board of Governors. SENATOR TAYLOR thanked MR. DAM for his testimony and opened the meeting to questions by the members. REPRESENTATIVE GAIL PHILLIPS had a question about his family. Number 052 SENATOR TAYLOR thanked MR. DAM for volunteering to serve on the Board of Governors, and MR. DAM signed off from Tacoma, Washington. ...................... Number 151 SENATOR TAYLOR introduced MRS. CAROL EASTAUGH, who has been re-appointed to the Violent Crimes Compensation Board, and invited her to give her statement. MRS. EASTAUGH said she had been on the board for 12 years, had been re-appointed by each governor in that time, and expressed her enjoyment at working with the other members. She said it was interesting, and she liked being helpful to the innocent victims of violent crimes. REPRESENTATIVE PORTER complimented MRS. EASTAUGH for her past service and hoped she would serve another 12 years. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT questioned why she declined to file a conflict-of-interest form, and she explained she had no reason to do so. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS indicated her appreciation to MRS. EASTAUGH for serving again. SENATOR TAYLOR asked MRS. EASTAUGH for her perspective and any suggestions for the improvement of the Violent Crimes Compensation Board. MRS. EASTAUGH praised the legislature for adequately funding the commission since there was an increase in the expenses for counseling and medical attention. She was pleased that claims were allowed for DWI victims and thought it should be extended to victims of all car accidents, such as hit-and- run accidents. She discussed with SENATOR TAYLOR whether it would take a legislative change. In addition, MRS. EASTAUGH thanked NOLA CAPP, Administrator for the Violent Crimes Compensation Board, for her assistance. She concluded with a discussion with SENATOR TAYLOR on the difficulty of managing funds for too many violent crimes. SENATOR TAYLOR thanked MRS. EASTAUGH for her gracious service and for her institutional memory. ........................ Number 335 SENATOR TAYLOR introduced a new member to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, SARA PEARSON, who testifying from Soldotna, Alaska, by teleconference. SENATOR TAYLOR clarified she had heard the previous testimony, and he introduced the committee members from both the Senate and House. He invited her opening statement. MRS. PEARSON explained she was born and raised in Alaska, married, has two children, and has always been involved in politics. She saw the Commission on Judicial Conduct as a way to get involved, and from attending one meeting, she thought she would be great on the commission. SENATOR TAYLOR thanked MRS. PEARSON for her interest and energy and opened the meeting to questions from the members. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS asked MRS. PEARSON if managing two small children would present any problems in serving on the commission. MRS. PEARSON reviewed her plans for the next meeting in Juneau with respect to her family. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS expressed pleasure in knowing MRS. PEARSON'S family. Number 372 REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON asked MRS. PEARSON what she mean by being "great" on the commission, what she would bring to the commission, and why she felt qualified to judge the conduct of judges. MRS. PEARSON indicated she was concerned as to what happened on the legal level and the things that happen of which the public was not aware. She listed her curiosity about he committees, her activism with people, and her understanding of what the public wants. She described how these attributes would help her decide on the conduct of a judge. REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON picked up on her comment of "things that go on that the public would not be aware of" and asked her to expand on her comment. Number 431 MRS. PEARSON talked in terms of complaints made against the judges, and she thought, as a public member, she could provide input as to what really happened. REPRESENTATIVE NORDLUND asked if MRS. PEARSON had ever been a party to a criminal or civil suit, or any incident in which she thought a judge was unfair. MRS. PEARSON answered "no" to both questions. SENATOR JACKO noted her involvement in music, and she reviewed her music commitments. SENATOR TAYLOR thanked MRS. PEARSON for volunteering to serve on the Commission of Judicial Conduct, and he stressed the importance of the position. She expressed some concern about her answer to the question dealing with a judge's conduct and explained it in terms of being able to let the public know what was going on in the commission meetings. Number 496 SENATOR TAYLOR explained some of the statistical significance of complaints against judges as being groundless, or the act of someone wanting revenge. MRS. PEARSON said she knew some of the complaints the commission could do nothing about. REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON suggested she would be in a position to "judge the judges," and he asked for her understanding of the process as a citizen member of the commission. He asked for any special qualifications she has for this judgement. MRS. PEARSON explained she didn't take the position lightly, but she still felt some nervousness at the responsibility. She said she was looking forward to the position, because she thought she had an open mind and able to hear both sides. She said she didn't judge on first impressions and was glad she was part of a membership to help her understand the meetings. Number 547 REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON continued his line of questioning to include her reasons for thinking she could do a good job and be a good judge of people. She continued to explain her reasons for feeling she would do well on the commission. REPRESENTATIVE JAMES complimented MRS. PEARSON'S youth and enthusiasm and thought these attributes would help her be successful. MRS. PEARSON thought her assessment was correct. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS wished MRS. PEARSON "good luck" and thanked her for being willing to serve on the commission. SENATOR JACKO thought MRS. PEARSON would bring a fresh and solid perspective to the position - and wished her well. REPRESENTATIVE KOTT agreed with all of the accolades given to MRS. PEARSON, and he praised her fair approach. ............................ Number 575 SENATOR TAYLOR went off the teleconference network, and called on JOHN SALEMI, a candidate for Public Defender in Anchorage. MR. SALEMI explained he was currently the director of the Alaska Public Defender Agency, and he reviewed both his personal and legal background. He agreed with MRS. EASTAUGH'S comment on there being too much violent crime, and he, also, would like to see a lot less. He portrayed violence as an unfortunate reality of our current society. MR. SALEMI explained how he became interested in being a public defender, and his tenure in the office since 1979. He characterized it as enjoyable and important work, rather than what is seen on television, which he termed inaccurate. MR. SALEMI described re-opening the Public Defender's office in Nome in 1980 as being one of the best experiences he had, working with the people in rural Alaska. He recognized the importance of providing quality legal services in the Bush. MR. SALEMI gave a statistical account of the 12 state-wide offices, 54 lawyers, and 1700 cases in 1992 for criminal, civil, child delinquency, mental health commitment hearings, and a variety of other matters. He described public safety as being very important, and in order for people to be safe, he said there must be the expeditious processing of cases. MR. SALEMI explained the process provided by public defenders, and in a democracy, he said there must be experienced, educated individuals in a courtroom setting protecting the individual rights. He dispelled the notion that public defenders were not concerned about crime, and he used his wife and baby to express his concern about crime. MR. SALEMI discussed the importance of not eroding individual rights at the expense of only thinking of public safety, which might diminish the quality of life in Alaska. Number 785 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked for the success ratio in the large number of cases from last year. MR. SALEMI said they don't keep records, since they have only recently received money for computers. He explained that all of their statistic keeping is done manually, so there is no sophisticated analysis. He suggested talking to the Department of Law for some idea of their success ratio, and he spoke to the difficulty in defining success. REPRESENTATIVE GREEN told a story to ask MR. SALEMI what he would do if, during the trial, he knew the defendant was guilty. MR. SALEMI explained a person has the absolute right to have a trial and effective legal representation, and the burden of proof is on the prosecution. He explained he was not charged with getting the guilty person off, but insuring that the prosecution meets its burden of proof. He discussed the benefits of the "presumption of innocence" in our society. Number 820 SENATOR JACKO expressed his belief in the importance of the work done by MR. SALEMI and asked what the DNA Task Force was on his resume. MR. SALEMI explained that DNA is the genetic finger print, scientific evidence which is gaining in popularity, because of its convincing power. He described the properties of DNA as used in committing a crime or in a paternity suit. He explained the task force was formed to determine whether a law should be enacted to allow the prosecution to admit DNA evidence, and he also explained how other jurisdictions deal with admitting the evidence. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS inquired about his association with the Carpeneti Law Offices in San Francisco and questioned the Public Defender's office v. the Office of Public Advocacy. She thought there might be a duplication or an overlapping of responsibility between the two entities. MR. SALEMI said there was a common misunderstanding about the missions of each of the agencies, and he explained there was some overlap in the arena of criminal cases. He said the Public Defender represents any individual accused of a crime, when that individual can establish indigency and not be able to hire private counsel. TAPE 93-20, SIDE B Number 001 MR. SALEMI continued by explaining how the public defenders are appointed to a case by the judge, and when they find they have a legal conflict of interest, the legal cannons of ethics don't permit them to stay on the case. He explained a case in which two people were involved in the same crime, and only one could be represented by the Public Defender. MR. SALEMI said previously a private attorney would be hired to represent the second individual, but he explained it was less expensive to have someone from the Office of Public Advocacy. In addition, other duties were given to the Office of Public Advocacy such as public guardianships and guardian ad litem services. Number 076 SENATOR TAYLOR expanded the examples to include other duties for the Office of Public Advocacy. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS asked if this was work done by the pro bono people, and SENATOR TAYLOR assured her they did a lot of it, too. MR. SALEMI said the Office of Public Advocacy had a pro bono program in their agency, and he outlined the power of judges to appoint as they see fit. Number 135 REPRESENTATIVE GREEN asked about his ambitions, other than being a public defender. MR. SALEMI said the last two or three public defenders have become superior court judges, but he had no immediate plans to try. Rather, he explained he aspired to other job related activities. REPRESENTATIVE NORDLUND talked currently of increased case loads, a lack of public understanding about the role and need for a public defender, and what MR. SALEMI perceived in terms of planning for the agency in dealing with an increased case load. MR. SALEMI explained, in the last five years, their case load had gone up 45% and resources increased 2%, and he spoke about the challenges of being a public defender. He said he was going to continue to tell the legislature why the Public Defender's office should be funded at an adequate level, and he stressed it was for public safety. He described the reasons for his enjoyment of his job, the commitment of his staff, and the importance of doing what he is doing. Number 282 MR. NORDLUND asked what he was doing about expanded case loads in the agency, and MR. SALEMI explained why the computers would be very important in streamlining the office procedures. He also explained how the offices would be able to cut down on the need for more clerical support, which is presently in short supply. He said it wouldn't totally cure the problem, but was a step in the right direction. MR. SALEMI stressed there was a need to get more training for his staff members, which are usually hired as inexperienced, and cheaper, lawyers. Unfortunately, these lawyers must step into a case load, so there needs to be additional training, and he described the present training process. He also discussed the need to keep more experience lawyers, since it makes the work go faster, and he described the creative ways he kept his staff happy. MR. SALEMI explained he was soliciting solutions. Number 294 REPRESENTATIVE NORDLUND passed on a friendly comment about his agency from CHIEF JUSTICE MOORE, in his address to the legislature. REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON asked MR. SALEMI how his agency got cases, and they agreed the public defender can't reject cases. MR. SALEMI quickly outlined the procedure by which the court system builds their case load. REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON reviewed his case load v. funding, and asked how he prioritized his work. MR. SALEMI said that none of the misdemeanor cases would get investigated, and there was really no investigation except for felonies. He described how he prioritized felony cases and cut appeals for post-conviction relief. REPRESENTATIVE DAVIDSON referred to the testimony from the sentencing commission, and wished MR. SALEMI "good luck." Number 435 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER asked MR. SALEMI if the prosecution side of the equation was in about the same financial shape, but MR. SALEMI thought it was an apples/oranges comparison there. He did describe some cuts to the Public Defender's office, and what it might do to them. He said both their office and the prosecution office was to received federal money, but only the prosecution office did. REPRESENTATIVE PHILLIPS observed that MR. SALEMI was a good advocate for his office, and he agreed the work they do is very important. Number 484 SENATOR TAYLOR expressed appreciation to MR. SALEMI for his dedication to the Public Defender's office. He suggested a system where by MR. SALEMI'S office could use the State Troopers as investigators on a rotation system that would allow police officers, prosecutors, and public defenders to become used to working both sides of the fence. There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:00 p.m.