HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.
![handle is hein.barjournals/askabar0008 and id is 1 raw text is: I U .& Poe* P'AN
A Mall
P 0
No. I1
TIE
*ksk,
Volume 8, Number I CDtgsitae. espaDtg~tla; March 15th Edition $2.00
Growing Court Backlog
Alarms Anchorage Jurists
This job is like trying to suck the
city water system dry. The pressure
never lets up and it is raining in the
mountains, remarked Anchorage
Superior Court Judge Carl Johnstone in
a recent Bar Rag interview as lie
described the effect on the Court
System of a 70% increase in civil case
backlog since July of 1981. At the end
of 1981 he had a backlog of 571 civil
cases. Two years later the number
jumped to 92Z Each of the Anchorage
Judges assigned to the civil calendar
presently carries approximately 1,000
cases with the exception of Judge
Rowland whose administrative duties
as Presiding Judge make it necessary for
him to carry a half load.
Judge Johnstone voiced concern as
the work load increases, he and his
fellow judges will have less and less
time available to them to dispose of
cases and consequently, the quality of
their judgments will suffer, He notes
that he has fifty-four to sixty-four trials
scheduled between February and De-
cember with 318 days of trial time and
no allowance made for seven weeks of
accumulated leave.
Reasons
Another Anchorage Superior
Court judge, Douglas Serdahley, at-
tributed the increase to a number of
factors.
. We have a mushrooming
population in Anchorage that is
expected to reach at least half of a
million people by the year 2000.
The more people we have, the
more litigation we are going to
see. There are more and more
complex cases today. The 120-day
rule coupled with the no plea bar-
gaining position of the District
Attorney's Office means that
more and more criminal felony
cases are going to trial. When
criminal judges are not available,
judges in the civil division are be-
in& tapped to try these cases. We
are presently taking approximate-
ly 25% of the criminal case, load.
[continued on page 2]
Swearing In the new last track judges.
The State of the Judiciary Address by Chief Justice Burke
President Kerttula, Speaker Hayes,
members of the House and Senate, ladies
and gentlemen: I welcome this oppor-
tunity to report to you on the state of
Alaska's judiciary.
With me today are my colleagues
on the Alaska Supreme Court, Jus-
tices Jay A. Rabinowitz, Warren W.
Matthews, and Allen T. Compton, and
our newest member, Justice Daniel A.
Moore. Justice Moore took office last
fall, following the retirement of our
former associate, Justice Roger G.
Connor. I bring you greetings also from
those members and employees of the
judicial branch not present.
An Overview
The state judiciary, otherwise
known as the Alaska Court System, con-
sists of four levels of courts: the Supreme
Court, a five person court having final
appellate jurisdiction and administrative
responsibility for all courts, and original
jurisdiction in matters pertaining to bar
admissions and discipline; the Court of
Appeals, a three person court with
appellate jurisdiction limited to criminal
cases; the Superior Court, a twenty-six
person court with limited appellate and
general trial jurisdiction; and the District
Court, a trial court having limited civil
and criminal jurisdiction. The District
Court, in addition to fourteen district
judges, is served by a number of magis-
trates. The latter handle a substantial
part of the district court's caseload, par-
ticularly in rural areas.
At the present time, the Court
System has 579 authorized positions, in-
cluding judges. These individuals serve
in fifty-five separate court locations
throughout the state. The court system's
operating budget this fiscal year repre-
sents a 1.7% share of the total general
fund budget. The amount that we are re-
questing for next year is approximately
$39.8 million, an increase of roughly 8%
made necessary by inflation and a grow-
ing caseload. Our share of the total state
budget, however, will not change signif-
icantly.
judicial Appointments
Two new District Court judges were
appointed during the past year. Both sit
in Anchorage. Natalie Finn and William
Fuld were appointed'to replace judges
voted out of office at the last general
election.
This month, Karen Hunt was sworn
in as a judge of the Superior Court. She,
too, sits in Anchorage. Judge Hunt was
appointed to the position left vacant
when Justice Moore became a member
of the Supreme Court.
There are two positions'waiting to
be filled: a District Court seat in Juneau,
where the incumbent recently resigned,
and a Superior Court seat in Valdez. The
latter position was created by this body
at its last session; that legislation became
effective when the District Court at
Valdez was recently abolished,
Caseload Increase
In common with courts across the
-country, we continue to see a substantial
increase in case filings at all levels. Be-
tween FY 82 and FY 83, Supreme Court
filings increased 23%. In the Court of
Appeals, filings increased 27%. Superior
Court filings increased only about 7%,
but the increase over a two year period,,
since FY 81, was 31%, and felony filings
in the past year alone were up 22%. At
the District Court level, the increase be-
tween FY 82 and FY 83 was approx-
imately 10% overall, with a 15% in-
crease in drunk driving cases.
The last statistic is important
because it means also a considerable in-
crease in the number of cases actually
tried by the District Court. Experience
has shown that defendants accused of
drunk driving are far more likely to de- -
mand a trial than are other misde-
meanor defendants, due to the certainty
of jail time and other sanctions in the
event of a conviction. Also, these defen-
dants are more likely to insist on a jury
trial, where, according to a recent study
by the Judicial Council, the likelihood of
an acquittal is greater than in cases tried
by a judge without a jury.
In addition, it appears that the
cases, in general, are becoming more
complex. That, at least, is the opinion of
many of our trial judges. Civil and
criminal trials lasting several weeks are
now routine. Thus, the amount of time
and deliberation needed to dispose of in-
dividual cases is becoming greater, often
requiring a degree of effort that would
once have been considered extraor-
dinary.
I would like to be able to say that
these trends are temporary. One cannot,
however, ignore the realities of the
society in which we live. Whether we
like it or not, Alaska is the fastest grow-
ing state in the nation. The motto of this
state, North to the Futtre,' which you
adopted in 1967, is not a phrase without
meaning. Alaska's economy, compared
to that of most other states, is booming
and the, freedom and opportunity that
lured most of us here continues to attract
others. To suppose that those people will
suddenly lose interest in Alaska and all
that it has to offer would be foolhardy;
they are as capable of dreams as you and
I. Thus, they will continue to come here,
no doubt in ever increasing numbers.
Their arrival means increased business
for the courts.
Our caseload statistics are influ-
enced also by the actions of this body.
Legislation such as that dealing with
domestic violence, guardianship, drunk
driving, and presumptive sentencing in
criminal cases has a direct bearing on the
number of cases filed and the likelihood
[continued on'page 2]
INSIDE
Burger Flap ..... 4
Sex . 5
Poems ..... .... 9
Bar News ... 10-12
Judge Hunt.. 21, 22
Case Loads ..... 23](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.barjournals/askabar0008&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)