Bethel judge accused of misconduct
Published Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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Stumble It!ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A judge in Bethel finds himself on the witness stand.
District Court Judge Dennis Cummings, 62, is accused of misconduct in a complaint that describes a hearing in his courtroom as chaotic after the prosecution and the defense learned he had handed a witness a note about the evidence.
Cummings, who briefly worked as an assistant district attorney in Anchorage before taking a prosecutor's job in Bethel, was appointed to the bench in December 2005 by then-Gov. Frank Murkowski.
The Alaska Judicial Council recommended Cummings be thrown out because of the Bethel controversy, low ratings from lawyers on his legal abilities and other issues.
Voters this month agreed to retain Cummings in office.
Community Discussion
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Another dumb decision by voters to retain a bad judge.
Now, the Supreme Court will get involved. Help us all!
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This is what happens when the only publicity regarding judges is in the election pamphlet sent out a couple weeks before the election. Most people don't read it and don't know what the judicial Council recommends. Cummings is only the second judge I can remember not being recommended for retention in the last ten years. Most voters don't even bother to read the judge section because the council always recommends retention. Voters just go into the booth and fill in yes, yes, yes. It is not a very good system.
I agree, poor system. Biggest help this election was the radio announcement from the Council with their recommendation. Perhaps a more frequent report of some kind on judges, something accessible and straight forward for the public? There may already be one, I don't know...
"This is what happens when the only publicity regarding judges is in the election pamphlet sent out a couple weeks before the election. Most people don't read it and don't know what the judicial Council recommends.... Most voters don't even bother to read the judge section because the council always recommends retention. Voters just go into the booth and fill in yes, yes, yes. It is not a very good system."
Exactly! Spot on comment.
Agreed. I always read the judicial section of the voter's pamphlet, as unless I have some personal knowledge of the judges, I have no other information on which to base my opinion. I admit, I was surprised that this year the council did recommend non-retention of Cummings, but, based on that recommendation, I cast my vote against him.
If one looks at the results for the judicial races, there was knowledge out there regarding the recommendation as his race was far closer than any of the others.
At some point, though, responsibility does fall to the voter.
One comment on here points the finger at voters, but I have yet to see a judicial "reappointment" show up on a ballot that offers any real insight into the judge they're asking you to reappoint. There is plenty of coverage about the ballot initiatives, why isn't there more on the judges that are on the ballot as well.
For all of those posters that come to the aide of "cops" when the subject of corruption comes up, this is yet another example proving what has been stated many times--your employment does not make you who you are.
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