Jack McKenna
Anchorage Superior Court | Third Judicial District
Judge McKenna was appointed to the Anchorage Superior Court in December of 2021. This is his first retention election.
Performance Summary
The Alaska Judicial Council finds that Judge McKenna met or exceeded performance standards and recommends a "YES" vote for his retention in office.
This conclusion is based on surveys and reviews from attorneys, court employees, jurors, and other user groups familiar with the judge's work, analysis of the judge's financial disclosure documents, analysis of how often the judge's decisions were affirmed on appeal, whether their pay was withheld for untimely decisions, how often the judge was disqualified from a case, whether the judge followed standards of ethical conduct and continuing education, input from the public, and the judge's demonstrated commitment to the administration of justice and the community.
The Council's evaluation process included an interview with Judge McKenna, and an opportunity for Judge McKenna to comment on his own performance.
"The last four years have been both challenging and incredibly rewarding. Being a superior court judge takes a tremendous amount of effort, time, and deliberation….I do my best to make sure that the parties and litigants feel they have been heard, treated fairly, and recognized by the court as real people."
— Judge McKenna
Detailed Performance Findings
The Council evaluated Judge McKenna’s performance on legal ability, integrity, impartiality and fairness, judicial temperament, and diligence and administrative skills. Judge McKenna met or exceeded the standard in each of these areas.
A summary of the Council’s findings on Judge McKenna's performance is presented here. Complete reports are posted in the source documents below.
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▼ Legal Ability
Did the judge demonstrate knowledge of substantive law, evidence and procedure, and clarity and precision in their work?
Attorneys familiar with Judge McKenna’s work rated his legal ability as excellent. See chart below for numerical ratings. Attorneys who appeared in cases before him gave positive reviews.
Jurors who served in Judge McKenna’s courtroom rated his attentiveness, intelligence and skill as excellent.
In Alaska, a party who disagrees with a trial judge’s decision can appeal to a higher court. The appeal court analyzes the judge’s decision and issues an opinion. The Council reviews all the opinions and analyzes how often and why individual judges are affirmed or reversed as one measure of the judge’s legal ability. Judge McKenna had 11 cases appealed and decided in the evaluation period, with an affirmance rate of 86% (Excellent). A review of the opinions raised no concerns about his legal ability. For more details, see the Appellate Affirmance Report, linked below.
Judge McKenna met or exceeded educational requirements set by the Alaska Supreme Court.
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▼ Impartiality & Fairness
Did the judge demonstrate a sense of fairness and justice and treat all parties equally?
Attorneys and court employees rated Judge McKenna’s impartiality and fairness as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated his impartiality and fairness as good. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Jurors who served in Judge McKenna’s courtroom rated his impartiality as excellent. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Court rules allow a litigant at the beginning of a case to file a request for change of judge. Parties whose cases were assigned to Judge McKenna seldom asked for a different judge.
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▼ Integrity
Was the judge's conduct free from impropriety or the appearance of impropriety, and did the judge make decisions without regard to possible public criticism?
Attorneys, court employees, and peace and probation officers rated Judge McKenna’s integrity as excellent. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Judge McKenna filed financial disclosure statements with the Alaska Public Offices Commission and separate conflict-of-interest forms with the court system as required, and the Council found no items of concern in these disclosures.
The Council confirmed that Judge McKenna was not the subject of any public disciplinary proceedings before the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, and that he followed standards of ethical conduct for judges.
Judges must disqualify themselves from cases where they have a conflict of interest or their impartiality might reasonably be questioned. The Council found no concern about Judge McKenna’s performance on this requirement.
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▼ Judicial Temperament
Was the judge courteous and free from arrogance, and did the judge manifest human understanding and compassion?
Attorneys, court employees, and peace and probation officers rated Judge McKenna’s judicial temperament as excellent. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Jurors who served in Judge McKenna’s courtroom rated him as excellent on respectful and courteous behavior.
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▼ Diligence & Administrative Skills
Was the judge prepared for court proceedings, did the judge work diligently, and was the judge reasonably prompt in making decisions?
Attorneys, court employees, and peace and probation officers rated Judge McKenna’s diligence and administrative skills as excellent. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Under Alaska law, a judge cannot receive a paycheck if they have any decision undecided or uncompleted for more than six months. Each pay cycle, judges must sign an affidavit declaring that no matter referred to them has remained undecided or uncompleted for more than six months. The Council verified that Judge McKenna was paid on schedule, and he certified that he had no untimely decisions.
Judge McKenna demonstrated commitment to improving the administation of justice and to community outreach. Judge McKenna:
- Chairs the court system’s Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction Committee, a group that updates criminal case jury instructions;
- Participated in a panel sponsored by the court system to teach journalists about court processes; and
- Helped recruit graduating law students to work as judicial clerks in Alaska.
See Judge McKenna's retention questionnaire for more information.
The Judicial Council distributed electronic surveys to attorneys, court employees, jurors, and peace and probation officers asking them to rate Judge McKenna’s performance on key skills. Survey ratings from these groups are shown in the charts below.
