This story was originally published by Dermot Cole, Reporting From Alaska.
With only one of three federal district court judgeships now occupied, the Alaska federal courts again face a judicial emergency, according to the Judicial Conference, the nonpartisan administrative office of the federal court system.
A judicial emergency is assumed to exist in “any court with more than one authorized judgeship and only one active judge.”
With the forced resignation of Judge Joshua Kindred, the only federal district judge in Alaska is Judge Sharon Gleason. There are four semi-retired judges that are still handling some cases, which is the only thing preventing a judicial backlog from getting much worse.
Prosecutors say that Kindred had at least 23 cases in which he had conflicts of interest related to contacts between the judge and prosecutors. Defense attorneys expect the final toll to be higher.
The retirement of Judge Timothy Burgess at the end of 2021 created the first vacancy in the Alaska courts. That position has been vacant for nearly 950 days.
Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have been unable to agree on who should replace Burgess, so the position has not been filled by the Biden administration.
Sullivan, who wants right-wing judges, created his own personal committee to advise him on who should be named to the federal bench.
Murkowski relied on the traditional process that included a poll of members of the Alaska Bar Association.
“I have done the interviews of all the candidates, I have made my selection. I have made clear to the White House where my selection is. And I’d like to get that resolved,” Murkowski told Bloomberg News in early July.
Asked where things stand with Sullivan, Murkowski told Bloomberg, “You’re going to have to ask him.”
Sullivan has nothing to say.
Sullivan submitted one name in January from his secret selection committee and a second in June, according to what a Sullivan spokesman told the Anchorage Daily News. I take that to mean that Sullivan had advance warning of the scandal that was to force Kindred out.
Sullivan and Murkowski should release the names of candidates for potential judgeships they have forwarded to the White House.
The federal secrecy favored by the senators is in stark contrast to the transparency of the process in selecting state judges. The Alaska Judicial Council uses an approach that Murkowski and Sullivan should adopt.
Seven people have applied to fill a vacancy on the Alaska Supreme Court. Two attorneys have applied for a judgeship in Bethel. All of the Alaska Supreme Court applicants are women, which means that the court may soon have a majority of women for the first time.
There is no need for guesswork about who they are. The disclosure of their names and backgrounds is in the public interest.
As to the federal emergency, the Alaska case is one of 16 emergencies in the U.S. now, but it’s not clear what the practical impact of the declaration means.
A 2011 paper from the Brookings Institution said the courts do not do much to publicize such situations other than posting the details on a federal website. In part this is to recognize the separation of powers question. The president names federal judges, while the Senate has the power of confirmation.
“No doubt the United States Judicial Conference created the ‘judicial emergency’ classification and posts emergencies on the federal court website to draw special attention from the White House and Senate. On a formal level, however, neither the Conference nor its Administrative Office highlights these vacancies, probably because the judicial branch has not thought it has a role, or even a right to intervene, in the nomination and confirmation process,” wrote Sarah Binder and Russell Wheeler of Brookings.
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University of Alaska Regent Seth Church has hired Schaeffer Cox to work on “business development” for Church’s construction company, Jewel Isaac.
Cox, convicted of several crimes more than a decade ago in Fairbanks, including conspiracy to commit murder, was released to a halfway house late last year.
Cox is also listed as development manager for Minto Global North, a company formed last year that is 51 percent owned by Minto Global LLC and 49 percent owned by Jewel Isaac.
This makes Minto Global North a Native corporation that has access to sole-source federal contracts of up to $100 million for military work and $25 million for other federal agencies. Minto Global LLC, owned by the Minto village corporation, is listed as “non-compliant” by the state for not filing a biennial report that was due Jan. 1.
The Blue Alaskan blog reported on Cox working for Church.
Cox has had many court cases over the years. He is still in court fighting his conviction, claiming he should have a new trial on the murder conspiracy conviction. His latest public defender filed this with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals July 3. One of the assertions is that Cox received ineffective legal representation.
Federal prosecutors said in the latest district court case that the evidence presented to the jury about the conspiracy to commit murder was sufficient.
Church, who is active in right-wing politics, was named to the UA regents by Gov. Mike Dunleavy last year to a term that continues until 2027. The Legislature confirmed him this year.
In 2020, Church said Schaeffer Cox was wrongfully convicted. “I’ve known Schaeffer Cox since we graduated from High School. What the FBI did to him was similar to what they did to Michael Flynn, Ted Stevens, & Don Young.”
Dermot Cole has worked as a newspaper reporter, columnist and author in Alaska for more than 40 years. Support his work here.
