Judge Estelle deserves to be retained

To the editor:

I am responding to Andrew Wellner’s article in the Frontiersman dated June 13, 2014, in which the Judicial Council recommends that the public vote against retaining Palmer District Court Judge William Estelle in the November election.

As a property owner in Palmer, I strongly disagree with the Judicial Council’s recommendation. More importantly, the Judicial Council’s article omits certain significant facts in its press release that the public should know about, including the following:

1. Judge Estelle made a self-report to the Alaska Judicial Conduct Commission in 2013 after he discovered he had two cases which were overdue and realized that he had signed pay affidavits without being aware that these two cases were overdue.

2. Judge Estelle provided “full and free disclosure to the Judicial Conduct Commission and brought a cooperative attitude towards the Commission’s proceeding” after he filed his self-report. In other words, he acknowledged his mistake and assumed responsibility for it.

3. Judge Estelle handles approximately 6,000 cases a year. In his 11 years on the bench, Judge Estelle has handled about 66,000 cases. So these two cases represent .00003 percent of the cases he has handled.

4. The decision in the case that was most overdue (six-months overdue with 12 affidavits implicated) never even appeared on the court system’s computerized listing of cases as being due by a certain date. A person of lesser integrity than Judge Estelle might not have self-reported this case.

5. After a year-long investigation and a two-day hearing in April 2014, the Judicial Conduct Commission concluded that Judge Estelle did not act intentionally and did not know that his pay affidavits were inaccurate at the time he signed them.

6. The Judicial Conduct Commission also found that Judge Estelle “had no dishonest or selfish motive,” that he had “excellent character,” was “precise and thorough in his work and has a good legal mind,” and “was remorseful regarding his conduct in this matter.”

7. Judge Gregory Heath, in testimony at the two-day hearing, stated that Judge Estelle is “a very compassionate guy” who is “willing to give of himself to the community,” has a “real skill at legal analysis,” has “an excellent knowledge of the law,” and “is good at understanding all the nuances.” Judge Heath also praised Judge Estelle for his work in starting and running the mental health court in Palmer, and characterized his work with the mentally ill as “fantastic.”

8. In the Judicial Council’s survey, on a scale of 1-5, with a 5 representing “excellence,” jurors rated Judge Estelle as a 4.7, court personnel rated him as a 4.3, and peace and probation officers found him to be a “4” with regard to integrity.

9. At his own expense, after realizing he had overlooked two cases, Judge Estelle took a course on case flow management in 2013 to more effectively manage his cases and ensure that he never had any other untimely cases.

Judge Estelle made a mistake, reported his mistake to the Judicial Conduct Commission, cooperated with the investigation, and has shown remorse. He has been a good judge, has contributed significantly to the community, and deserves to be retained.

Sarah S. Alfadl

Palmer