The Alaska Constitution 101: What you need to know

The Alaska Constitution flowed through many conversations during our last election on Nov. 6, 2018. For its last edition for 2018, Justice Alaska on Hometown Alaska takes a look at that document. Matt Peterson, an Anchorage attorney, recently presented an historical perspective to the Soldotna Rotary, emphasizing management problems under the territorial government and how the Alaska Constitutional Convention sought to address those issues.

Ongoing important topics related to our state constitution include:

• how judges are selected, and why Alaska judges do not run for election, but rather stand for retention, giving voters a say;
• the recent debate on whether the PFD should be enshrined in the constitution;
• what is the process for revising the Alaska State Constitution, and how often does it happen?

As always, your questions and comments are welcome throughout the program. Join us!

HOSTS:

• Kathleen McCoy and Senior Judge Elaine Andrews

GUESTS:

• Matt Peterson, Anchorage attorney
  

LINKS:

• The Alaska Constitution, Office of the Lt. Governor
• Amendments to the Alaska Constitution, Ballotpedia
• Minutes to the Alaska Constitutional Convention, Judicial Council website
• Creating Alaska: the origins of the 49th state, University of Alaska project website
• A Native perspective of Alaska’s Constitution (60 years later), UAA Justice Center, 10.23.2018
• Should PFD be enshrined in the Alaska Constitution? opinion by Sen. John Coghill, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, 3.11.2018
• The wisdom of the Alaska Constitution a half-century later shows the forward thinking of its framers, by historian Stephen Haycox, Anchorage Daily News, 12.9.2018
• Constitutional and statutory provisions governing judicial retention/evaluation, Alaska Judicial Council website
• The Alaska Constitution, A Citizen’s Guide, Fifth edition (PDF, 252-pgs)
• The Alaska Constitution, Wikipedia
• Dunleavy is gearing up to consider some constitutional reforms, opinion by Rich Moniak, Juneau Empire, 11.18.2018
• Alaska Bar Association Fair and Impartial Courts Committee, Historical Research and Oral Histories form Alaska Constitutional Convention, video interviews with Thomas Stewart, secretary of the convention; John “Jack” Coghill and Vic Fischer, convention delegates.
• “The Biggest Damned Hat:  Tales from Alaska’s Territorial Lawyers and Judges”  by Pamela Cravez, University of Alaska Press, 2017
• 2018 Symposium on the Alaska Constitution, Oct. 12, 2018, at UAA, Duke Law.
• Alaska Constitutional Convention and Statehood collections, UAA/APU Consortium Library

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