Miller v. Carpeneti: Judge Sedwick's opinion

Just released: Justice John W. Sedwick’s Order and Opinion in the case of Miller v. Carpeneti (3:09-cv-00136-JWS) in which plaintiffs sought to prevent the attorney menbers of the Alaska Judicial Council from taking part in the selection of nominees for the Alaska Supreme Court position being vacated by Justice Robert L. Eastaugh upon his retirement on November 2.  The plaintiffs also sought to declare the provisions of the Alaska Constitution which define the composition of the Alaska Judicial Council, as well as related provisions of Alaska Statutes, unconstitutional under the U.S. Constitution.

Judge Sedwick heard oral arguments in the case last Friday, September 11, and issued a bench order dismissing the plaintiffs’ complaint.  This is the official written order, along with his opinion which provides the legal reasoning he followed to come to his decision.  The opinion itself is 23 pages, but there are lengthy appendices, including the minutes from the Alaska Constitutional Convention which led to the creation of the Judicial Council, Alaska Judicial Council bylaws, the procedure used by the Council in the judicial selection process, and the letter of recruitment for Justice Eastaugh’s position.

Okay, so here it is:

I haven’t read it yet, so no comments at the moment.

Here’s the stuff that came before:

Plaintiffs: Complaint; motion for preliminary injunction

Defendants: Motion to dismiss complaints; opposition to motion for preliminary injunction

Plaintiffs: Response to defendants

Defendants: Reply

This entry was posted in Alaska justice system and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.