The
Summer/Fall 2015 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum
presents articles on a survey of studies on judicial selection methods
used by U.S. states, selected milestones from the UAA Justice Center's
40-year history, an intervention to reduce public disorder in
Anchorage's Town Square Park, 2014 institutional populations under
authority of the Alaska Department of Corrections, and smart justice
initiatives in Alaska.The 12-page issue includes the following articles:
The Alaska legislature is considering a bill — Senate Joint
Resolution 3 — that would put before voters a state constitutional
amendment to change the composition of the Alaska Judicial Council and
the way its members are selected. The Alaska Judicial Council plays a
constitutionally-mandated role in the selection of Alaska’s judges and
also makes recommendations to voters concerning retaining or not
retaining judges as part of the judicial retention election process.
This article reviews selected existing studies relevant to potential
effects of this proposed change to the council composition — studies
that examined judicial effectiveness, responsiveness of judges to public
opinion, and public perception of judges.
In celebration of its 40th anniversary, the UAA Justice Center presents a timeline of selected milestones from its history.
This brief research note describes an intervention designed to
increase activity in Anchorage's Town Square Park in an effort to reduce
public disorder in the park. An abbreviated evaluation of the
intervention is included.
This article looks at highlights from the
2014 Alaska Offender Profile
published by the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC), with a focus
on the 2014 institutional population defined as pretrial detainees,
post-conviction inmates, and probation and/or parole violators housed in
a correctional facility. A brief sidebar describes Alaska's unified
system of corrections.
Smart justice initiatives seek to reform criminal justice systems
by reducing correctional populations and recidivism while lowering
costs, maintaining offender accountability, and ensuring public safety.
This article describes two smart justice initiatives underway in
Alaska, “Results First” and “Justice Reinvestment."
Dr. Brad Myrstol and Prof. Kristin Knudsen have been recognized
with Chancellor's Awards for Excellence. Prof. Deb Periman has been
promoted to Professor of Justice. Prof. Jason Brandeis has been awarded
tenure and been promoted to Associate Professor.
Araceli Valle, Ph.D., and Karin Thomas, M.S., have joined the staff
of the Alaska Justice Information Center (AJIC) as Research
Professionals.
