A conservative group sues Alaska's judicial council for diversity records

A national conservative legal group is suing the Alaska Judicial Council for records on how it weighs diversity in screening candidates for state judgeships, part of a broader campaign the group has waged against diversity policies in public institutions around the country.

America First Legal Foundation, founded by former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, filed the suit Sept. 2 in Anchorage Superior Court. It says it requested the records in June, that the council confirmed receipt and then went silent past a 10-day response deadline in state regulation, and it asks the court to order the records released.

The council is a constitutional body that screens applicants for every judicial vacancy in Alaska, sends the governor at least two nominees for each opening, and evaluates sitting judges for whether voters should keep them.

At the center of the dispute is what the council's bylaws actually say about diversity, and the group's characterization of it. The bylaws direct the council to make "every effort to promote diversity, including gender and ethnic diversity" when encouraging attorneys to apply for judgeships. Separately, its list of nomination criteria includes a "demonstrated commitment to equal justice and the legal needs of the diverse communities of Alaska," alongside competence, integrity, temperament, judgment and experience. A third provision says a council member "shall not discriminate on any basis prohibited by law." America First Legal describes those provisions, and the council's attention to an applicant's background, as resembling diversity, equity and inclusion criteria.

The suit also challenges the council's confidentiality rules. Its records are public by law unless exempt, and the council keeps confidential the comments it gathers about applicants, sensitive parts of applications, investigative files and its own deliberations. The group calls those exemptions unlawful. Whether they are is a question for the court.

The council has not responded publicly, and this account reflects the group's filing and the council's published rules. Filing a suit is not a finding, and it does not establish that the council discriminated against anyone or that its rules break the law.