U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan veered into criticizing a federal judge when he spoke to reporters at the state Capitol on March 20.
“I don't want to get specific, but we have a couple district judges that rule with the far-left radical environmental groups every single time,” Sullivan said. “And that judge, in my view, has done more damage to our state than almost anyone imaginable.”
It was obvious whom he was talking about, because Sharon Gleason is now Alaska’s only fully active U.S. District Court judge. He went on to assail her impartiality again a moment later, when discussing his intentions for selecting the next federal judge to serve with Gleason.
“My red line is, we're not going to have another judge like the one that we were talking about,” Sullivan said. “I'm going to make sure Alaska does not get a federal judge who sides with the far-left radical enviros on every case.”
Sullivan’s remarks caused a stir in Alaska’s legal community. Lawyers familiar with Gleason’s record say Sullivan is mischaracterizing her.
“She does not always rule in favor of environmental groups,” said former Anchorage attorney Jeff Feldman. “And I can say that both by looking at her history as well as from personal experience, because she has ruled against me in environmental cases, or against my clients.”
To cite a few prominent examples:
In 2021, Glease ruled against environmental groups trying to block oil leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
In 2023, Gleason dismissed lawsuits aimed at stopping Willow, ConocoPhillips’s oil and gas project in the National Petroleum Reserve.
And then, on March 25 she issued her decision favoring a state-owned investment bank that won leases in the Arctic Refuge.
Feldman, now a law professor at the University of Washington, said 81% of Gleason’s decisions are upheld on appeal, a slightly higher rate than other federal judges who have served in Alaska. Feldman considers Sullivan a friend. He said that while it’s fair to criticize specific judicial decisions, it’s inappropriate to “throw rocks at a judge” by alleging a bias that doesn’t exist.
“When a leader makes that kind of allegation, that suggests that a judge's rulings are both wrong and politically motivated, that undermines faith and confidence in the judiciary,” Feldman said.
Federal judges are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. By tradition, the senators from the state with the judicial vacancy play a big role. They usually select a candidate and send the name to the White House. For several decades, Alaska’s U.S. senators have made their selection with the help of the Alaska Bar Association. The Bar Association collects names of applicants and then polls its members about them.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski likes the process. Sullivan doesn’t.
“One bar poll is not a reflective of what's out there, in my view, and I feel very strongly about that,” Sullivan said.
Case in point, Sullivan said, is Joshua Kindred’s selection. Kindred was the District Court Judge who resigned last July amid findings of improper conduct. Sullivan praised Kindred at his 2019 Senate confirmation hearing but speaks of him with disgust now and is quick to point out he wanted someone else.
To Sullivan, the Kindred fiasco shows the need for more pre-nomination screening. So Sullivan is using a method he devised: He’s appointed a committee of Alaskans to collect and review applications.
Sullivan has been keeping most of his process under wraps, including who the potential nominees are. Sullivan said confidentiality attracts more applicants.
Retired state court judge Elaine Andrews said the Bar poll works well if senators choose from the top end of the list. Kindred finished near the bottom. Andrews says she wonders about applicants who will only step up for Sullivan’s secret process.
“If they're afraid of a terrible bar poll,” she said, “because they're either inexperienced, intellectually unqualified, or an ideologue that they know people do not believe will be fair — well, then we've got a problem.”
Andrews said nominees should represent the best and the brightest, and that the Bar poll helps with that because attorneys are the ones who know the work habits and professionalism of their colleagues.
“The goal should be to find a person who is willing to work, who's capable of understanding the complex matters that comes before the federal court, and who has the courage to apply the law to the facts and decide the case,” she said.
Alaska has two vacant positions on the U.S. District Court bench. Sullivan said he and Murkowski could not agree on judicial nominations last fall but are working to find candidates they both like.
