This is in response to the Oct. 5 article by Nathaniel Herz, which reported on a group calling itself “Alaskans for Judicial Reform.” That group has announced a campaign against Supreme Court Justice Susan Carney, seeking to convince Alaska voters to vote against her retention in the upcoming election based on the group’s criticism of her rulings in three cases, including an opinion she authored which invalidated as unconstitutional an Alaska statute limiting abortions covered and paid for by the state-federal Medicaid program to only those deemed “medically necessary.”
Every American has the unfettered right to criticize judges and their decisions. In fact, this right goes back to the founding of our republic and demonstrates the strength of our democracy. However, when that criticism escalates into personal attacks against individual judges or broadside attacks on the judiciary, generally, that criticism crosses a bright line. Our courts must be free from outside influence or political intimidation, both in the consideration of cases before the courts and in seeking the office of judge. Our courts were not established to follow opinion polls or to discern the will of the people at any given time – but rather to uphold the law and, as Chief Justice Roberts has said, to “speak for the Constitution.” Justice Roberts went on to say that “(o)ur courts are to interpret the Constitution and laws of the United States and to ensure that the political branches act within them. That job requires independence from the political branches.”
An independent judiciary refers to the need for courts that are fair and impartial when reviewing cases and rendering decisions. The people rely on courts to protect their access to justice and to protect their legal rights. Alaskans for Judicial Reform have the right to criticize any decision they disagree with, but the voters of Alaska should not fail to retain a highly qualified justice, such as Justice Carney, based on her performance of her judicial duty to fairly and impartially interpret the Constitution of the United States and the Alaska Constitution free from political intimidation or outside influence.
Gary A. Zipkin
Member, Alaska Chapter of American Board of Trial Advocates
Anchorage
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