A judge's authority is much more limited than people think. As with citizens, an Alaska judge's behavior is governed by the laws that the Alaska Legislature has passed, plus the rules that the Alaska Supreme Court has issued, including rules on judicial ethics. No society, no state, no citizen wants to have a renegade judge.
I am a former prosecutor, a retired Anchorage judge and now a "senior" judge (which means I can substitute in for judges in the state as needed). As a prosecutor, I prosecuted assault, sexual assault and child abuse cases before becoming a judge. As a judge for many years, I've presided over hundreds, if not thousands, of criminal cases. In response to the public's concern about the Justin Schneider sentencing, I'm going to attempt to clarify what an Alaska judge can and cannot do within our law and our rules.
By law, a judge has no authority — none — over what charges are filed or dismissed or how they are pursued by the prosecution. A prosecutor is solely responsible for the decision to file, dismiss or reduce any charge.
By law, Judge Michael Corey had no authority to impose a jail sentence that exceeded two years because at this defendant's sentencing, this defendant was charged as a first-time felony offender with one Class B felony. The Legislature set a two-year limit for this offense:
Alaska Statute 12.55.125(d)(1) says: "a defendant convicted of a class B felony…shall be sentenced to a definite term within the following presumptive range(s)…if the offense is a first felony conviction … zero to two years."
Schneider's sentence was based on a plea agreement. The plea agreement presented to Judge Corey was within that two-year limit.
It is true that the judge could have rejected the plea agreement and the defendant could have withdrawn his guilty plea and taken his chances at trial. Or, if the defendant decided to proceed with his guilty plea to the Class B felony without a plea agreement on an "open sentencing" basis, and if the judge had imposed the maximum legal sentence of two years:
– the defendant would have served two-thirds of two years (because of legislatively required one-third off for "good time")
– he might have spent the entire time on electronic monitoring outside of jail; post-sentencing, a decision to place someone on electronic monitoring instead of jail is within the exclusive control of the Department of Corrections, not the judge;
– there would have been no additional three years of probation: no probation officer, no sex offender treatment (which he apparently consented to as part of his plea agreement), and no threat of further time in jail if he failed on probation.
In other words, with a "full" two-year sentence, he would have served two-thirds of two years (with credit for time already served on electronic monitoring), and it would have been completely over.
Any reasonable, experienced judge would understand the foregoing and would have had to weigh accepting the plea agreement against this other potential outcome.
Canon 3 of the Alaska Code of Judicial Conduct, which governs all state judges, says:
"A judge shall be faithful to the law. A judge shall not deviate from the law to appease public clamor, to avoid criticism, or to advance an improper interest."
The Alaska Judicial Council's poll of police officers, court staff, jurors and attorneys shows that Judge Corey has been highly rated in all categories during more than three years as a judge. The Judicial Council found Judge Corey to be qualified and recommended unanimously that the public vote "yes" to retain him as a Superior Court judge.
Judge Corey was faithful to the law as required by the Code of Judicial Conduct. Judge Corey acted within the governing law and within the ethical and factual constraints placed upon him in this very difficult situation.
I urge you to follow the Alaska Judicial Council's unanimous recommendation and vote yes to retain Judge Corey.
Natalie K. Finn served as an Anchorage District Court Judge from 1983-2002, and a Pro Tem District and Superior Court Judge from 2006-present.
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