Alaska Employment Law

Judicial discipline: In the disciplinary matter against Bethel District Court Judge Dennis Cummings for ex parte contact with the prosecution during a criminal matter, the Court held:

We conclude that a suspension of three months is appropriate. We apply to judicial discipline cases the same rule that we have applied in attorney discipline cases: if suspension is indicated, a six-month suspension is the baseline.  We then consider whether there should be a departure from the baseline on the basis of the harm to the administration of justice and the presence of aggravating or mitigating factors. Here, we regard the violations as significant and potentially harmful to the administration of justice, because they might have unfairly affected the outcome of the criminal trial, by
making the possibility of conviction more likely. But we conclude that the actual harm to the administration of justice was minimal in this case, because the prosecution did not use the information provided by respondent and the prosecutor did not understand the note’s relevance. In this regard, we also note that the respondent could have called attention to an obvious legal error on the part of a witness, as long as he notified both parties of the matter. We next consider, as the commission found, that several mitigators — and only one aggravator — are present. Finally, we also conclude that the suspension should be without pay, resulting in a very significant loss of income to respondent.

We also require respondent, before returning to the bench, to acquire at his own expense additional training satisfactory to the commission. At a minimum, that training must generally cover the Code of Judicial Conduct, and must particularly cover the topics of ex parte communications, judicial impartiality, and the appearance of impropriety.

In re Dennis Cummings, Order No. 65 (Alaska July 16, 2009)(footnotes omitted)

Matt Jamin of Kodiak represented the Judicial Conduct Commission; Jon Katcher of Anchorage represented the judge.

Attorney discipline:  The Court suspended Anchorage attorney Jody Brion for three years (two stayed) and imposed conditions on reinstatement, for a variety of instances of client neglect.

In re Jody Brion, Op. No. 6391 (Alaska July 17, 2009)

Louise Driscoll, Assistant Bar Counsel, represented the Bar.  Brion was pro se.