{"id":38421,"date":"2018-11-12T11:44:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-12T20:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/council-picks-judge-nominees-but-which-governor-will-have-the-say\/"},"modified":"2018-11-12T11:44:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T20:44:00","slug":"council-picks-judge-nominees-but-which-governor-will-have-the-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/home\/council-picks-judge-nominees-but-which-governor-will-have-the-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Council picks judge nominees — but which governor will have the say?"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Alaska Judicial Council has picked a list of finalists for judgeships across the state, and now it’s time for the governor to have his say.<\/p>\n
But it remains uncertain whether Gov. Bill Walker or governor-elect Mike Dunleavy will make the final pick for a vacant seat on Alaska’s Court of Appeals and for superior court seats in Bethel, Kenai and Juneau.<\/p>\n
The Alaska Constitution<\/a> requires the governor to pick a judge from a list of at least two finalists approved by the Judicial Council, a nonpartisan body of legal experts. State law<\/a> requires “the governor” to make a pick within 45 days. It doesn’t specify which governor.<\/p>\n “Technically, I guess, it could be either,” said Susanne DiPetro, executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council.<\/p>\n Spokespeople for Walker did not return emails and calls seeking comment Friday or Monday (a federal holiday), and a spokeswoman for the Dunleavy transition team was unable to provide an answer by the Empire’s press deadline.<\/p>\n The issue is a result of the judicial council’s scheduling process, which is “agnostic” with regard to elections, DiPetro said. The week of Election Day just happened to be a time when all seven members of the council were available to meet.<\/p>\n As a result of that calendar, the deadline for picking the final judge on the list is Christmas Eve. Dunleavy’s term doesn’t begin until Dec. 3, allowing Walker weeks to interview the finalists and make a decision.<\/p>\n If Walker does take up the issue himself, Dunleavy will have ample opportunity to select judges as well: The Judicial Council will nominate finalists for vacancies in Anchorage, Kodiak, Palmer (2 positions) and Utqiagvik in early 2019.<\/p>\n Among the finalists selected in the November lists are Daniel Schally and Julie Willoughby, who will be considered for the new Superior Court seat created by the Alaska Legislature earlier this year<\/a>.<\/p>\n Willoughby was rejected by Walker<\/a> earlier this year for another Juneau superior court vacancy. In that case, Walker offered Willoughby the job but recanted after viewing a legal brief she wrote in defense of a client accused of sexual abuse of a minor. Willoughby is a criminal defense attorney, and Walker’s move was roundly criticized by the Alaska Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.<\/a><\/p>\n Willoughby received high marks from attorneys familiar with her work; fellow attorneys gave her 4.4 out of 5 possible points in the anonymous surveys conducted by the bar association<\/a> as part of the vetting process for nominees. Schally, the district court judge in Valdez<\/a> and a former Ketchikan district attorney, received 4.5 out of 5 points.<\/p>\n