This is not a letter for or against the recall petition. It is a letter about bashing the courts for political advantage. Stand Tall with Mike announced its decision to stop its participation in the recall appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court by attacking the court’s impartiality. The press release complained about the scheduling of the expedited appeal process, incorrectly claimed the court refused a recusal request for Chief Justice Bolger to not participate, and bemoaned decisions by “unelected judges.”
This is political theater. To my knowledge, all election cases of merit have had the attention of the court on an expedited basis. In moving forward on an expedited basis the court was treating the Dunleavy recall exactly the same as it has treated all other election cases in the past. Instead of indicating bias, the fact that the court treated the Dunleavy matter the same as all other election cases is powerful evidence of the fact that it is impartial. When the Stand Tall folks complain about this, it is clear that they are not interested in an impartial judiciary. Instead, they want the judges to give special treatment to Dunleavy.
Second, there was no decision by the court on recusal. There is a process to ask a judge to recuse or remove himself. Stand Tall never made the motion required by the court rule and simply raised the question in a scheduling call with a court clerk, not the court itself.
These attacks on the judiciary for political gain undermine our democracy. This is the one institution that cannot speak back when unfounded attacks are made. It is the one institution that seeks to stand above the political fray. Efforts by some to politicize the process do Alaskans a disservice — we have a judiciary that is selected by merit and not by political affiliation. Our standing among other states regarding the quality of our judiciary is high. Both sides should fight the battle in the polls and the hearts of the voters and not by picking on the one institution designed to protect everyone’s fair access to the political process.
— Roger DuBois
Anchorage
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