Public invited to comment on judicial candidates

ANCHORAGE -- The Alaska Judicial Council is inviting public comment on 13 candidates who have applied for two vacant positions in the Anchorage District Court -- including a Palmer assistant district attorney.

Jack W. Smith, from the Palmer District Attorney's office, and 12 other candidates are asking for consideration for the two judge seats in the Third Judicial District. The 12 other candidates are Connie L. Carson, Brian K. Clark, Carmen E. Clark, Suzanne R. Cole, Leslie Dickson, William A. Earnhart, Catherine M. Easter, Richard D. Kibby, Vennie E. Nemecek, Joseph D. O'Connell, Paul E. Olson and Jennifer K. Wells.

The Judicial Council Monday released a report of survey scores from members of the Alaska Bar Association for the candidates. According to information provided by the council, bar members considered the professional competence, integrity, fairness, judicial temperament, suitability of the candidate's experience for the vacant position and overall performance of each applicant.

Members used a rating scale of one to five, with five being the highest rating and a rating of three being "acceptable."

A brief description of each candidate's background and a copy of the survey scores for each candidate can be found on the Judicial Council's 0Web site at I.

In selecting candidates to send to the governor for the final selection, the Judicial Council considers various sources of information in addition to the attorney survey. They council checks all references, any criminal or disciplinary charges against the candidate, the candidate's credit history and any court cases in which the candidate has been involved. The council also interviews each candidate and holds a hearing to allow public comments.

The council's public hearing for the current candidates will be held on Monday, Dec. 2, at 4:30 p.m. at the Boney Building, courtroom 31. The public is encouraged to participate and comment on the judicial candidates.

The public is also encouraged to provide comments on the Judicial Council's Web site, or in writing to the Alaska Judicial Council, 1029 West Third Avenue, Suite 201, Anchorage, AK 99501-1969.

The council will meet Dec. 4 and 5 to interview the candidates in the Alaska Judicial Council conference room at 1029 W. Third Avenue, Suite 550. Following the interviews, the council will nominate three or more persons to the governor for the two positions. The governor then will have 45 days in which to make the appointments.