Alaska voters on track to reject 2 Kenai judges in initial election results

Alaska voters in the Third Judicial District opted to reject two state judges standing for retention in the midterm election by wide margins in initial results on Tuesday.

The vote comes after the non-partisan Alaska Judicial Council — charged with vetting and nominating judges, as well as conducting performance evaluations — issued a rare recommendation for voters not to retain the two judges in this election. They were the only two they recommended not be retained out of 21 judges standing for retention elections. For another Juneau judge, they issued no recommendation.

Voters opting to retain Kenai Superior Court Judge Kelly Lawson and District Court Judge Martin Fallon were outnumbered by “no” votes, according to initial results released by the Alaska Division of Elections. As of Wednesday, 58% of voters voted “no” to retain Lawson, and 41.8% voted “yes” — a 16 point margin, or 19,939 vote split. For Fallon, 59% of voters cast a “no” vote and 40.9% voted “yes,” — a roughly 18% margin, or 21,853 vote split. 

If the results hold, the two will step down from the bench at the end of February, 90 days after the election results are certified, according to state law. 

Judicial retention votes take place in even-number years to allow voters to decide whether judges should be allowed to stay on the bench. According to preliminary results on Wednesday, voters opted to retain 19 of the 21 judges up for retention. 

Lawson and Fallon did not respond to questions from the Alaska Beacon about the results and their opinions of the council’s recommendation not to retain them on Friday. 

Lawson was appointed to the bench in the Kenai Superior Court in 2023, and this was her first retention election. After a performance evaluation, the council found she did not meet performance standards for judicial temperament and integrity. 

This was the second retention election for Fallon, who was appointed to the Kenai District Court in 2019. The council found in its review that he did not meet performance standards related to integrity, diligence and administrative skills, including failing to resolve cases in a timely manner. 

The vacancies in the Kenai courts will be filled by retired judges, called pro tem judges, according to Rebecca Koford, a spokesperson for the Alaska Court System.

“We are grateful to the pro tem judges who step in to help in times of need,” Koford said by email on Friday. “We expect that pro tem judges will assist with helping to cover the caseloads for the two Kenai positions until they are filled but coverage details are still being worked out.”

The number of cases that Lawson and Fallon are currently presiding over was not immediately available on Friday, Koford said.  

Looking ahead, Susanne DiPietro, executive director of the council, said by email Friday that the council will interview and nominate applicants for the two judicial vacancies at its next meeting in May. The nominees will then advance to the new governor to make appointments for two new judges.