Palmer PD appointed District Court judge

PALMER -- A longtime Valley attorney has been appointed judge of the Palmer District Court by Gov. Frank Murkowski.

Greg L. Heath, supervising attorney for the Public Defender Agency in Palmer, will take the bench in late December or early January. The governor's office notified him of the selection Tuesday.

"Greg has a good understanding of what is needed to be a good judge, and, with his experience in front of judges as a public defender, has a close-up view of our justice system," Murkowski said.

The 46-year-old Palmer resident has practiced law since graduating from the University of Montana School of Law in 1993. He has been supervisor of the Public Defender Agency since 2000 and a member of the office since 1994.

Heath was chosen from 15 original applicants for the newly created position. The Alaska Judicial Council pared the list to four names, which were forwarded to Murkowski for final consideration.

The other finalists were Laurence Keyes, an Anchorage attorney; Stephen B. Wallace, assistant district attorney for the state of Alaska; and Jennifer K. Wells, committing magistrate and standing superior court master in Anchorage.

Heath said he believes his experience with Palmer courts helped his candidacy.

"It's a real positive," he said. "I know everybody in the system from probation officers to judges and clerks. I know how the system works."

Also, Heath said he understands the flavor of the Valley, which he described as "a unique place with lots of traditional family values."

Heath hopes to help speed up the court process, which is particularly sluggish in the Palmer courthouse due to higher-than-average caseloads compared with similarly sized jurisdictions elsewhere in Alaska. He talked with former Palmer assistant district attorney Bill Estelle, who was named to the Palmer bench earlier this year, about ways to speed up the process.

Heath said he would like to see more faith-based counseling in the Valley, especially since there are limited programs available here for those ordered by the courts to undergo counseling. Anchorage courts have begun to embrace faith-based counseling.

"That's one area I'd like to see grow," Heath said.

He's seen staggering growth in cases coming through Palmer courts in the 10 years he's served here. For example, the public defender's office had three or four attorneys in 1994, Heath said, but now has seven attorneys and two full-time investigators.

"The numbers are unbelievable," he said.

District court is a trial court with limited jurisdiction. Judges hear state misdemeanors as well as city and borough violations, and can issue summonses, arrest warrants and search warrants.

District court also holds preliminary hearings in felony cases, records vital statistics, can hear civil cases of up to $50,000, and small claims cases up to $7,500. District court judges also hear domestic violence cases and handle other cases involving children on an emergency basis.

"At the district court level you make a lot of judgment calls as to whether a person has potential for rehabilitation," Heath said. "You get a lot of young people in district court.

"I think I have a lot to offer, a lot of insight into the system. I'll bring some new blood and hope to help make things work better."

Heath and his wife, Phyllis, have daughters Sarah, 23, and Melissa, 21, who attend the University of Alaska Anchorage; a son, Joel, who attends Palmer and Colony high schools; and another son, Michael, who is a student at Palmer Junior Middle School.