By SUZANNE DOWNING
A group calling itself Alaskans for Fair Courts is suing Gov. Mike Dunleavy over one of his recent appointments to the Alaska Judicial Council.
The group claims that because the appointee is a retired attorney, he’s ineligible to serve as a non-attorney member of the Council.
The group’s lawsuit hinges on a narrow and novel reading of the Alaska Constitution, which says members shall be appointed “without regard to political affiliation,” but makes no mention of retired lawyers.
That argument is flimsy on its face. But if Alaskans for Fair Courts is truly concerned with upholding the integrity of the Judicial Council, they might want to turn their scrutiny to someone a bit closer to their ideological home: Fairbanks attorney Savannah Fletcher.
Fletcher was appointed to the Judicial Council by the Alaska Bar Association, a move that received little media attention. Unlike the governor’s appointments, which face immediate public and political scrutiny, the Bar Association’s picks tend to slip under the radar. She was reappointed in April — by the Bar Association.
And in this case, that’s a problem.
Fletcher’s résumé reads like a blueprint for progressive political activism. She works on behalf of the Northern Justice Project, a hyperpartisan law firm that engages in “law fare” and operates at the far edge of the political spectrum, closely tied to the Alaska Democratic Party. She also served on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, where she rose to become presiding officer before her failed attempt at state office. Her tenure wasn’t without controversy.
Earlier this year, a nonpartisan ethics committee found that Fletcher had violated the Borough’s ethics code — not once, but three times — while serving on the Assembly. The findings were serious enough to warrant a formal censure by her fellow Assembly members. In government service, a censure is no small matter. It signifies a breach of public trust, conduct unbecoming of someone in a leadership role. But her professional code of conduct as an attorney is also a matter of concern.
Fletcher was the only attorney on the Assembly at the time. She had both the legal training and the ethical obligations of her profession.
But when she ran unauthorized political radio ads and then misled her colleagues about it, she crossed the line. Rather than acknowledge the misstep, she hired a lawyer to defend her in what should have been a straightforward matter of admitting she erred, and offering resumption to resolve the matter. The effort to deny her responsibility failed, and she was censured during a public hearing.
To be clear: Attorneys are held to high standards for a reason. They are officers of the court. The Alaska Bar Association routinely disciplines lawyers who violate public trust or act unethically.
Yet in Fletcher’s case, the Alaska Bar looked the other way, and then rewarded her with a seat on the Judicial Council, the very body responsible for helping choose Alaska’s judges.
It gets worse. Fletcher’s biography proudly notes that she once clerked for Alaska Supreme Court Justice Susan Carney. That’s notable because Justice Carney now serves as Chief Justice, and holds the tie-breaking vote on the very same Judicial Council.
So let’s summarize: A politically connected progressive attorney, formally censured for ethics violations, gets quietly appointed to a powerful body with input into who becomes a judge in Alaska and she has a personal tie to the Council’s tie-breaking vote.
If Alaskans for Fair Courts were genuinely concerned about political influence or the integrity of the process, this is where their lawsuit would begin. Instead, they’re focused on parsing words in the Constitution to disqualify a governor’s appointee based on a status (retired attorney) that the document doesn’t even mention.
Their silence on Fletcher is telling. So is the presence of Bruce Botelho as their co-chair. Botelho, a former Democratic Attorney General, remains one of the most influential political operatives in Juneau. His fingerprints are all over the city’s Democratic machine—from the mayor’s office to the left-leaning “Juneau Independent” news site. The board of Alaskans for Fair Courts also includes heavy-hitting Democrats and politicos such as AFL-CIO president Joelle Hall, who is rumored to be considering a run for governor.
Among the officers of Alaskans for Fair Courts is attorney Tom Amodio, who, as a private attorney, works for the Alaska Democratic Party. In 2024, Amodio asked the court to force Democrat Eric Hafner off of the ballot. Hafner, a Democrat and a felon, was going to take votes from Mary Peltola, the sitting congressional representative. The court ruled against Amodio, who routinely files lawsuits on behalf of the Democratic Party against the Division of Elections.
When Alaskans for Fair Courts calls for fairness, what they really mean is control. This group is an undeclared arm of the Democratic Party.
If we want truly fair courts, then the standard must apply to everyone, regardless of party. That means examining all appointees to the Judicial Council, not just the ones made by a Republican governor.
Integrity isn’t partisan. And neither should be our courts.
Suzanne Downing is the founder of Must Read Alaska and serves as editor.
Oh, how does the political machine become so stacked against, at the very least, the other 50% of the citizens of the state of Alaska? Clearly, outside influence wants to make the Left Coast blue from San Diego to Utquiagvik.
This. Is. So. Very. Wrong.
Appointed judges from pool of nominations by lawyers at Judicial council what can possibly go wrong.
This is exactly why the Democrats fight against a State Constitutional Convention.
Losing control of the Judicial Selection Process is their biggest fear by far.
Without control of the courts, they couldn’t window shop judges that will give them rulings that bypass legislative approval… The courts ruled that the special interest piggy banks, such as PCE, don’t have to yearly roll back into the general fund.
The Supreme Court ruled the Legislature doesn’t have to follow the law. Which handed Gov Walker the keys to raiding the PFD..
Pretty convenient to have a pocket judge to run too with a lawsuit, every time you want to ignore Alaska Statue and steal from the people…
So every ten years when the Constitutional Convention is put on the ballot, it’s not about losing rights to abortion or any other issue. It’s totally the Democrats utter fear of losing control of the Courts.
In a perfect world, the Alaska Bar would not have a seat at the table during the selection process.
Intelligent people don’t let the fox guard the hen house door.
This investigative story gets five stars. MRAK digs deep and informs Alaskans better than any news outlet in the state. We are so very lucky to have Suzanne Downing and her contributors.
I second that. It’s nice to have actual news/investigative news of the day reported.
This clearly speaks to corruption inside the Alaska Bar Association. Not just every licensed attorney in Alaska, but every resident of Alaska, should be concerned. It’s incomprehensible to me that such a nice person as Chief Justice Susan Carney would allow herself to get caught up in this mess. I thought law clerks, especially those that clerk for a chief justice, would have to pass some kind of integrity and honesty exam. Apparently not in this case.
Justice Susan Carney must be so embarrassed to be affiliated with this piece of trash lawyer.
The article leaves out two very important pieces of information: 1) Alaska’s constitution requires that the Alaska Judicial Council membership be three attorneys appointed by the Alaska Bar Association; three non-attorneys appointed by the governor; and the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. Governor Dunleavy appointed John W. Wood to serve in the vacant non-attorney seat, even though Wood is an attorney. 2) Alaska’s constitution prohibits appointees to the Alaska Judicial Council if they currently hold a “position of profit” with the state. State records show Wood has served as a state contractor, receiving more than $132,000 this year. The most recent payment is listed as June 6, 2025, a month after Dunleavy appointed him.
Well, there are these considerations based on the language in the Alaska Constitution.
Does it matter anymore?
We’re living in a politicized political environment detached from facts and increasingly devoid of reason.
It’s mostly emotionally driven drivel, disconnected from reality, as illustrated by most of the comments in this forum.
Hey Joe Geldhof……nice job in your representation of former state representative David Eastman. You cleared Eastman in court. Even most of us conservatives knew Eastman was a wildcard and a bit nutty. But you are now the man, Joe, even when politics and a smudge of disreality is being played out before the judiciary.
Bla..bla..bla…..your argument is specious and to be polite …..disingenuous. The crooked, dishonest, censured lawyer ….Savannah Fletcher……a little commie girl…..who clerked for the chief of alaska supreme court….misses the integrity qualification to be on the judicial council by a country mile. And you want us to believe that a retired lawyer, a conservative…..is not qualified to be on the council because Dunleavy picked him? More democrat hate and hyper partisan bs. Get rid of Fletcher from the council and put someone with integrity in her place. Our next crop of judges will be forever grateful.
Whip it on Dunleavy!! He is a lousy decisionmaker on any issue to manage this state and has placed this state in jeopardy many times. The sooner he is gone, the better.
LOL. Dunleavy, just like Donald Trump, is going nowhere. There’s lots of work left to be done, routing out the scum Democrats from government. In this case, from Alaska’s judiciary.
DK has lots of issues. TDS is one of many. Suggest you get more sedation.
Alvin. That you imply our governor Dunleavy and Trump are NOT scum suggests you are gullible and not a critical thinker.
Agree totally. Suzanne, it’s fantastic the reporting you do, and have done all along. I’m not sure how else Alaskans would know what’s really happening in our state without this forum- please continue!
We keep hearing a lot about this Fletcher woman at the Banks. Seems wherever she goes, its nothing but more left-wing crap that gets stirred-
up. Trouble follows her everywhere. I don’t see how the Judicial Council could find her as a good fit, unless the ABA wants to load the courts with all radical Democrats and turn the justice system upside down.
I think that’s their goal, Ted.
Alaska Bar Association packing the Judicial Council with dishonest, unethical, radical Democrats. But Dunleavy gets chastised for putting an honest Republican moderate on the Judicial Council. And we end up with left-wing loonies wearing black robes. The Alaska judicial system is so corrupt.
How did such a corrupt and self-serving clause, of mandating that the Alaska Bar Association be instrumental in the governor’s choice of judicial appointees, ever get enshrined in the Alaska state constitution in the first place?
That clause and mandate needs to be ended ASAP! It is inherently corrupt.
The Alaska Bar Association is corrupt. The Judicial Council has corrupt members. Alaskans For Fair Courts is corrupt. Democrats are corrupt. Thank God we have Governor Dunleavy. And Donald J. Trump. Both elected by the majority vote.
I-N-C-E-S-T-U-O-U-S
There’s far more to this story. Savannah Fletcher was the Fairbanks Assembly member who helped bring charges and then censure to Barb Haney who is also on the Assembly. Then the tables turned on Fletcher and she was up on charges. Fletcher brought in some ineffective lawyer to defend her, but she was beat in the Ethics Committee trial by a lone woman who actually has a day job as a janitor. What a defeat!!!
The lady janitor actually beat Fletcher twice. Now that’s the kind of justice us common citizens LOVE!!!
The Alaska Bar Association is corrupt. The Judicial Council has corrupt members. Alaskans For Fair Courts is corrupt. Democrats are corrupt. Thank God we have Governor Dunleavy. And Donald J. Trump. Both elected by the majority vote.
No confidence in the Alaska Court system. Nor the AK Judicial Council, which places the judges on the bench. And now the Alaska Supreme Court too?
It’s Clear: It’s 86/49
Removal of Savannah Fletcher from the Judicial Council is the only way to settle this political quagmire. Otherwise, the ABA looks like a crooked operation run by Democrats. And the Supreme Court looks complicit.