David L. Roghair
Utqiagvik Superior Court | Second Judicial District
Judge Roghair was appointed to the Utqiagvik Superior Court in December of 2021. This is his first retention election.
Performance Summary
The Alaska Judicial Council finds that Judge Roghair 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 Roghair and an opportunity for Judge Roghair to comment on his own performance.
“During my time in this role, I have gained a great deal more experience in trial and other substantive proceedings, in especially felony criminal, child in need of aid, domestic relations, and probate matters….I always remember how fortunate I am to serve the public in this position.”
— Judge Roghair
Detailed Performance Findings
The Council evaluated Judge Roghair’s performance on legal ability, integrity, impartiality and fairness, judicial temperament, and diligence and administrative skills. Judge Roghair met or exceeded the standard in each of these areas.
A summary of the Council’s findings on Judge Roghair's performance is presented here. Complete reports are posted in the source documents below.
-
▼ Legal Ability
Did the judge demonstrate knowledge of substantive law, evidence and procedure, and clarity and precision in their work?
Attorneys familiar with his work rated Judge Roghair’s 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 Roghair’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 Roghair had four cases appealed and decided in the evaluation period. This number of cases was too small to use as a statistical performance measure. In the four cases he was affirmed twice, partially affirmed once and reversed once. A review of the opinions raised no concerns about his legal ability. For more details, see the Appellate Affirmance Report, linked below.
Judge Roghair met or exceeded educational requirements set by the Alaska Supreme Court.
-
▼ Impartiality & Fairness
Did the judge demonstrate a sense of fairness and justice and treat all parties equally?
Attorneys, court employees, and social service professionals rated Judge Roghair’s impartiality and fairness as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated him as acceptable. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Jurors who served in Judge Roghair’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 Roghair seldom asked for a different judge.
-
▼ 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 social service professionals rated Judge Roghair’s integrity as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated him as good. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Judge Roghair 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 Roghair 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 Roghair’s performance on this requirement.
-
▼ Judicial Temperament
Was the judge courteous and free from arrogance, and did the judge manifest human understanding and compassion?
Attorneys, court employees, and social service professionals rated Judge Roghair’s judicial temperament as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated him good. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Jurors who served in Judge Roghair’s courtroom rated him as excellent on respectful and courteous behavior.
-
▼ 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 social service professionals rated Judge Roghair’s diligence and administrative skills as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated him as acceptable. 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 Roghair was paid on schedule, and he certified that he had no untimely decisions.
Judge Roghair demonstrated commitment to improving the administation of justice and to community outreach. Judge Roghair:
- Serves on the court system’s Mental Commitment Rules Committee, a group that drafts, reviews, and recommends improvements in mental commitment case procedures to the Alaska Supreme Court;
- Serves on the court system’s Child in Need of Aid Rules Committee, a group that drafts, reviews, and recommends improvements in child welfare case procedures to the Alaska Supreme Court;
- Serves on a court system workgroup to address timely case processing;
- Serves as a Training Judge for magistrate judges and helps plan the magistrate judge conference;
- Participates as a member in Alaska Bar Association sections on international law and Alaska Native law and as a member of the American Bar Association’s judicial division and court technology committee;
- Makes presentations at local schools;
- Volunteers as a coach for a local school mock trial team;
- Volunteers as a judge for the Jessup International Moot Court;
- Is a member of a group of judges from rural areas in Alaska that hosts educational programs and networking; and
- Helped plan a ceremony and associated events to rename the Utqiagvik courthouse in honor of former Magistrate Judge Sadie Neakok.
See Judge Roghair's retention questionnaire for more information.
The Judicial Council distributed electronic surveys to attorneys, court employees, jurors, peace and probation officers, and social service professionals asking them to rate Judge Roghair’s performance on key skills. Survey ratings from these groups are shown in the charts below.
