Over half a century ago, Alaska's Constitutional Convention adopted a Judiciary Article that calls for Alaska's judges to be selected on merit through a process involving the nonpartisan Alaska Judicial Council. To balance the goal of ensuring that judges reflect the highest standards of the legal profession with the goal of ensuring public input, the framers provided that the council would have six citizen volunteers and would be chaired by a seventh member, the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court.
The chief justice serves ex-officio and votes in rare instances, such as in tie votes. Three of the council members are elected by members of the Alaska Bar Association from specified geographic regions and appointed by the board of governors of the Bar and three of the council members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. After an extensive evaluation of each judicial applicant, which includes consideration of the applicant's fairness and impartiality, integrity, temperament, professional competence, diligence, life experience and public service and consideration of public input, the council provides a short list of the most highly qualified candidates to the governor, who makes the final appointment. Thirty-five states use some form of a judicial nominating commission in their judicial selection process(es).
The second step of Alaska's merit-based judicial selection and retention process is voter retention. At specified intervals, every Alaskan judge appears on the general election ballot, where voters decide if a judge should be retained.
VIDEO: How to be an informed voter on judges on the retention ballot
VIDEO: Longtime Alaskan Vic Fischer shares his perspective as a constitutional delegate.
VIDEO: Explanation of the judicial selection and retention process
VIDEO: What does an Alaska appeals court judge consider when issuing a ruling?
VIDEO: What an Alaska trial judge considers when issuing a ruling
Learn more about Merit-Selection of Judges:
Merit-Selection of judges in Alaska (Alaska Law Review, PDF)
Courts protect fundamental rights from tyranny of majority (OP-ED)
Take our quiz on Judicial Selection!
KNOW YOUR ALASKA JUDGES!
After serving an initial term of two years (district court judges) or three years (superior and appellate court judges), every judge must appear on the ballot for approval or rejection by the voters.
If the judge is retained in that initial election, then he or she must appear on the ballot for approval or rejection at regular intervals.
Supreme Court justices stand every ten years, court of appeals judges stand every eight years, superior court judges stand every six years and district court judges stand every four years.
Elections in which voters decide whether a judge should serve another term are called “retention elections.”
How can voters make informed decisions on whether judges should be retained?
Alaska law requires the Alaska Judicial Council to evaluate the performance of judges and to publicize its evaluations and recommendations.
Why should we care about retention elections and judges?
You, or someone you care about, may appear before a judge at some point.
Judges preserve the rights of citizens, decide child custody and other important family matters, resolve business disputes both large and small, send people to jail, and make other decisions that affect people’s lives in fundamental ways.
The Alaska Judicial Council publishes its evaluations on its website at www.knowyouralaskajudges.com. The evaluations can also be reviewed in the Official Election Pamphlet, mailed to all Alaskan voters.
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