By THE ALASKA STORY
Sept. 2, 2026 – America First Legal sued the Alaska Judicial Council on Wednesday, accusing the judicial screening body of failing to respond to a public-records request seeking information about the use of diversity, equity and inclusion considerations in selecting Alaska judges.
The lawsuit, filed in Alaska Superior Court, asks the court to order the Judicial Council to search for and promptly produce records responsive to the organization’s June request.
The Judicial Council acknowledged receiving the request but has not produced documents or provided any other substantive response, according to America First Legal.
Under Alaska’s system, the Judicial Council evaluates applicants for judicial vacancies and sends a list of nominees to the governor. The governor may appoint only someone approved and forwarded by the council.
The seven-member council consists of three attorneys selected by the Alaska Bar Association, three non-attorneys appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature, and the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, who serves as chairman.
America First Legal’s request focuses on language adopted by the council in 2021 stating that it would make “every effort to promote diversity, including gender and ethnic diversity” when encouraging qualified attorneys to seek judicial office.
The council’s published selection procedures also direct members to consider the “diversity of the applicant’s personal and educational history,” exposure to people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and an applicant’s “demonstrated commitment to equal justice and to the legal needs of the diverse communities of Alaska.”
America First Legal argues that those standards may resemble “cultural competence” and other criteria that the U.S. Department of Justice has warned can function as proxies for discrimination based on race, sex or other protected characteristics.
The lawsuit does not establish that the council has discriminated against any particular applicant. Rather, America First Legal is seeking the council’s internal records to determine how those diversity provisions have been interpreted and applied during Alaska’s judicial selection process.
The organization says the council was required to provide an initial response within 10 working days, produce the records, identify any documents being withheld or explain whether additional time was necessary. Instead, the council did no more than confirm receipt, according to the complaint.
The dispute also challenges provisions in the Judicial Council’s bylaws that purport to keep certain records confidential. America First Legal maintains that the council cannot create its own exemptions from the Alaska Public Records Act simply by adopting them as internal rules.
If the council invokes those provisions to withhold documents, the organization says it will challenge the legality of the exemptions.
“Sweeping public records exemptions are where the truth goes to die,” said Emily Percival, senior counsel at America First Legal. “The Alaska Judicial Council is accountable to the great people of Alaska. Accordingly, it should produce the requested documents and prove that judicial selection in Alaska is fair, honest, and meritocratic. If they don’t, AFL will fight for the right of Alaskans to hold the AJC accountable.”
“The Last Frontier deserves a judiciary selected for quality, not race or sex,” said Bobby Crossin, counsel at America First Legal. “AFL is committed to protecting our cherished courts from the Left’s DEI insanity.”
The lawsuit brings a new legal front to a controversy examined earlier by The Alaska Story.
Ken Blackwell warns that Alaska’s judge selection process is in a DEI ‘black box’
In December, The Alaska Story reported on warnings from Ken Blackwell, former Cincinnati mayor and president of the Council for National Policy, who described Alaska’s judicial selection process as a DEI “black box.”
Blackwell argued that the council’s diversity language could allow ideological and identity considerations to influence which candidates reach the governor. Because the governor cannot select someone the council has declined to nominate, the screening process can determine the practical boundaries of every judicial appointment.
The Judicial Council says Alaska’s system is designed to produce judges selected on merit and that its procedures prohibit discrimination barred by state or federal law. Its published rules also state that council members may not consider an applicant’s political or religious beliefs, except when personal beliefs could create a substantial bias or interfere with the impartial application of the law.
The records sought by America First Legal could show how the council reconciles those nondiscrimination requirements with its stated commitment to promote gender and ethnic diversity.
The Judicial Council had not publicly responded to the lawsuit as of publication.
America First Legal’s case page is available here. The Alaska Story’s earlier report on the judicial selection controversy can be read here.
One thought on “America First Legal sues Alaska Judicial Council over DEI public-records request”
It’s not just the Alaska Judicial Council’s use of DEI for selection of judges. It’s the Alaska Bar Association’s use of DEI for their selection of members on the AJC. Take for instance, far, far radical left AJC member Savannah Fletcher who was a failed Democrat candidate for FNSB mayor and later failed a state senate seat. Fletcher is an attorney who clerked for the Alaska Supreme Court chief justice, then later became an Assembly woman at the FNSB. She engineered a scheme to censure a fellow assembly member. Karma came back to Fletcher, and she got censured by her fellow assembly members for violating code, then lying and trying to cover up her lies. But mysteriously, she was appointed to the AJC at the same time as her censure. Now, she is placing left-wing judges to the bench in Alaska. Fletcher needs to be examined closely and bar complaints need to be filed against her for ethics violations for being a dishonest lawyer. Fletcher is a disgrace to the public and to the legal profession.