Chief Justice Joel Bolger notified Gov. Mike Dunleavy last week of his plan to retire from the court, effective on June 30, 2021. The announcement was published Nov. 30 on the Alaska Court System website.
Bolger said he gave early notice of his retirement because the process for filling a judicial vacancy can take months, and he wishes to ensure a smooth transition.
Bolger spent the majority of his professional career in rural Alaska, serving as a VISTA volunteer attorney in Dillingham, as an assistant public defender in Utqiagvik, and in private practice with the firm of Jamin Ebell Bolger & Gentry in Kodiak. Bolger was appointed to the Valdez District Court by Gov. Tony Knowles in 1997, to the Kodiak Superior Court by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2003, to the Court of Appeals by Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008, and to the Alaska Supreme Court by Gov. Sean Parnell in 2013.
Judges are not actually appointed by governors, however. A small selection of nominees are offered by the Alaska Judicial Council, a liberal-dominated group that gathers recommendations from the Alaska Bar Association, which is dominated by Democrats. A governor must pick from the list.
Bolger took on an adversarial role to the Dunleavy Administration, including issuing statements shortly after the election of Mike Dunleavy that threw shade on the governor and emphasized the independence of the judiciary.
He became entangled with the effort to recall the governor, which is led by Democrats and political operatives, by making statements about the case before the challenge of the recall came to the Supreme Court. Those statements he made pertained to the delay of appointing a judge to the Palmer court, which became one of the prongs against Dunleavy that is part of the Recall Dunleavy group’s effort to remove him from office.
Later, he recused himself from the recall question, but only after pressure.
At a conference of the Alaska Federation of Natives, Bolger asked the group to help him resist political influence in the judiciary.
Dunleavy had cut the court system’s budget, and an Alaska Superior Court judge subsequently ruled the governor may not do so for any reason.
The appeal of that decision will be before Bolger and the Supreme Court likely prior to his retirement.
Bolger’s three-year term as chief justice began in July 2018. Bolger is the first person in Alaska to be appointed to all four levels of the Alaska judiciary. His final State of the Judiciary speech before the Alaska Legislature this January will be watched with interest.
Adios.
“First thing, let’s kill all the lawyers.” – William Shakespeare. “Lawyers are always the scum of the earth, until you need one.” (unknown author). Justice Bolger has a mixed record – it depends on who you speak with as to how effective he has been. That he has political opinions is a given.
Good riddance.
The big problem is this requirement that the Governor appoint judges based on the Judicial Council’s recommendation. This requirement MUST be changed – it condemns the State to the whims of activist liberal judges, appointed only with the approval of liberal activist lawyers. (Really, the PFD is an appropriation requiring legislative control of disbursement – says the AK Supreme Court… It’s the peoples’ money, not the State’s.) The objection that removal of the Judicial Council’s compelling influence would inject politics into the judiciary is a smokescreen – politics is already in the judiciary, just not the politics most people want.
Yes, why must we have judges approved by the Judicial Council? Oh, that’s right. It is that stupid document called the Alaska State Constitution. All it takes is to repeal that section of the state constitution. While we are at it, let’s repeal another stupid provision in the U.S. Constitution. The one that is obviously antiquated and clearly undemocratic: The Electoral College.
How did it ever come to pass, or even be considered any sort of good idea, that we have a private, non-governmental (and blatantly partisan) body in charge of who can and cannot be chosen by the governor as a judge? This astounds and outrages me! It is no wonder that the judicial overreach and bad decisions so common in Alaska are no reflection of the broader public opinionsand values.
Why wait till June? His resume reads like a bad dream for Alaska. Glad he’s gone.
Good Riddance
Bon Voyage Mr. Bolger.
And the prize is: You have made a name for yourself on so many platforms.
Well played Mr. attorney.
Fact: I’m a back seat quarterback. I’m not qualified to judge.
But you were in the position to judge.
And I wonder…
Mr. Bolger, did you do your job well? Can you sleep at night in your retirement days knowing the good, bad and ugly history of your life.
Perhaps so, there are too many who justify their actions and swim quite well in the dark river of denial .
Day in court: I know, like many do, there is a larger judge sitting over you who will review your actions while you were on the planet. I know that you will have to serve your day in the courts on high, when it’s your time.
Not gonna miss that date, now will you? None of us will.
Eventually.
Here’s something to be said during that forward time: Good luck on your upcoming trial.
Good news: I know the judges on high to be ‘absolutely’, without a doubt, fair and merciful.
The Ultimate Judicial Pattern
I always vote against them all. People are sheeple.
Nice to know we will be paying for this swamp creature for the next 20-30 years. Sheesh. Where do we Find all these corrupt hacks?
Exactly how to you pay for Alaska retirees?
Not soon enough. How about tomorrow?
Hold on as we are going to take it in the backside with the crooked lawyers having control. We need a law to limit lawyers license to 2 years and that’s it.
The dissatisfaction with the state of the Judiciary under Justice Bolger’s and the Alaska Judicial Council’s leadership is reflected in the increasing percentage of Alaskans voting for non-retention of judges across Alaska. Activist judges have no place on the bench.
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