Litigation

Appeals Court Upholds AK Merit Selection

By Peter Hardin

Alaska’s merit-based system for choosing state Supreme Court justices and Superior Court judges does not violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court panel ruled.

In September 2009, a federal district judge threw out a lawsuit challenging the state’s merit selection system, after several individual plaintiffs represented by Indiana-based lawyer James Bopp had contended it was weighted in favor of lawyers (see Gavel Grab post).

That decision was appealed to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel voted unanimously to reject claims that lawyers are given too much of a say in the process, and to uphold the way the state selects its judges, according to an Associated Press article.

Under Alaska’s system, when there are judicial vacancies, the Alaska Judicial Council nominates a slate of candidates to the governor, who makes the final choice. Periodically, judges are listed on the election ballot and are retained or unseated by voters.

The Council membership includes three attorneys chosen by the state bar association, three non-lawyers and the state’s chief justice.

Judge Mary M. Schroeder wrote for the appeals panel:

Full post as published by The Gavel on October 04, 2010 (boomark / email).