Letters to the Editor

Letter: Judge retention

There were no surprises in the outcome of the 2020 election here in Alaska. One thing was striking though, the percentage of voters who attacked our judiciary with a “no vote” for retention. In Alaska Judicial District 3 (south of the Alaska Range), all judges received nearly a 40% non-retention vote. This is unprecedented. Having cast my ballot in Alaska for 48 years, my recollection is that with very few exceptions, the vast majority of voters were in favor of retaining the judges appointed to their posts. We trusted in the rule of law, in the institutions and people that enacted that rule. Only a handful of fear-o-phobes — or criminals? — viewed duly appointed judges as an enemy.

This shift in voting is indicative of how a particular sector of our society has come to perceive one of the most important institutions of American democracy. What is behind this? Who are these people? What is at play here?

Those of us who believe in our court system, in the rule of law and in the fair and equitable way our judges are appointed, may want to pay attention to this. Is this 40% that distrusts judges inclined to take the law into their own hands?

— Marty Decker

Anchorage

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