Alaskans for Fair Courts

Alaska Common Ground hosted Alaskans for Fair Courts (AFC) for a discussion about Alaska’s robust judicial selection and retention system laid out in our Constitution and recognized as the gold standard around the country. AFC is a nonprofit that provides nonpartisan information about the integrity of these processes – and as a result, the quality of Alaska’s judiciary. They described how our judges are selected and evaluated by the Alaska Judicial Council (the entire process takes a full year!), and how the system aims to ensure quality judges are placed and retained based on their performance, ethics, and ability to follow the law – not on political grounds, as is the case in many states.

Judges up for retention are included at the end of the General Election ballot. Unfortunately, many voters skip completing this section because they are unsure of who to vote for, and more and more, voters are seeing ideological campaigns opposing certain judges, adding to the confusion. But what we were reminded is that Alaskans can feel confident about voting the recommendations put forward by the Alaska Judicial Council because of its rigorous processes, and how important it is to educate ourselves with the full breadth of resources available to make our own decisions – not based on campaign ads. The Alaska Judicial Council publishes all of their comprehensive performance evaluations and recommendations on their website, and we encourage you to take a look before you head to the polls!

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