Joe Miller

Ketchikan Judge to hear Miller's election case

One day after it was moved out of Fairbanks to Juneau, Joe Miller's legal fight has been bouncing among available judges. For now, Judge William Carey of Ketchikan is assigned to preside over the case, provided Miller doesn't exercise his right to bump the proceedings to another judge's courtroom.

Ketchikan sits on an island near Alaska's southern border with Canada, 235 miles south of the state capitol of Juneau. It's not yet clear whether Carey will attend Wednesday's status hearing in person or if he will run things from afar by calling in by phone. The case was ordered out of Fairbanks earlier this week to get it closer to the physical location of the ballots in case they need to undergo inspection as the case moves forward.

After arriving in Juneau, the case was first assigned to Judge Phillip Pallenberg, who immediately recused himself. It then went to Judge Trevor Stephens of Ketchikan, who was promptly taken off the case following a peremptory strike made by the state of Alaska Department of Law, which is representing the Division of Elections. The Department of Law declined to comment on why the state's attorneys didn't want Stephens on the case. Peremptory strikes aren't uncommon and each side is allowed to make one.

Pallenberg was appointed to the bench in 2007 by Gov. Sarah Palin and Stephens in 2000 by Gov. Tony Knowles, and both men were retained for new terms in the Nov. 2 election. Prior to the election they were recommended for retention by the Alaska Judicial Council, on which Miller's wife, Kathleen Tompkins-Miller, sits. Council records show that Tompkins-Miller voted with the council to make a recommendation to retain both judges.

Judge William Carey is a 2008 Palin appointee.

Contact Jill Burke at jill(at)alaskadispatch.com.

Jill Burke

Jill Burke is a former writer and columnist for Alaska Dispatch News.

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