Key players revealed after judge Margaret Murphy arraignment

  By Jessica Schultz Pleasant

On Friday July 21, 2023, former Homer district court judge Margaret Murphy was finally arraigned after delays due to procedures and filings of the court. The Kenai court room was full of Alaskans. During the arraignment, it was found Murphy is charged with a Class B felony, which is a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail with a $100,000 fine if convicted. Judge Thomas Matthews used zoom to preside over the hearing. The superior court judge was chosen after the requests for recusals by 3 other judges.

Source: Alaska News Source

According to a press release by the Alaska Court System, Judge Thomas A. Matthews was a Governor Bill Walker appointee to the Anchorage Superior Court in 2018. He is a UC Berkley graduate of 1981, a law degree from the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon. His primary practice was spent with civil litigation and representation of small businesses.

What appears hopeful is his 25 years of experience with the Ethics Committee of the Alaska Bar Association, not considering how Alaska’s system for the judicial bar is highly affected by a judge’s opinion of attorneys before a judge. The Alaska bar was affected by the Alaska Supreme Court over taking its independence. This impacts the zealous representation of clients. It has been seen firsthand that attorneys will be too afraid to upset the AK judge they are before. Folding up like wet napkins.

“He also served as a member of the Civil Pattern Jury Instruction Committee and serves as a mentor judge to newer judges. He also established and runs a bi-weekly meeting for civil judges around the Third Judicial District. Judge Matthews is grateful for the opportunity to serve the people of Alaska and is excited for the opportunity to expand his responsibility to address the needs of the entire Third Judicial District. The Third District covers Anchorage, Cordova, Dillingham, Glennallen, Homer, Kenai, Kodiak, Naknek, Palmer, Sand Point, Seward, St. Paul, Unalaska, and Valdez.”

Reporting by Alaska’s News Source clarifies Murphy’s representation is Jeffrey Robinson. Robinson represented Governor Dunleavy’s appointed the former acting attorney general (August 2020 – January 2021) Clyde “Ed” Sniffen. The governor showed poor choice of character, as he was going to hire Sniffen permanently in January 2023. This was a blemish to Dunleavy’s administration. Child abuse and SA is commonly ignored by fellow professionals in government circles. Even a governor can be guilty of turning a blind eye to child abuse. A governor may even retaliate if he is questioned about his own state’s criminal acts against children.

According to Alaska’s New Source, “Murphy remained silent during the hearing and was released on her own recognizance and will be required to stay in contact with her attorney. A pretrial conference is scheduled for August 11 at 10 a.m., which will also be televised on Zoom. Matthews will be assigned trial judge, and a trial date has yet to be determined.”

Alaskans were prepared to be present at the May 9, 2023, arraignment of Judge Margaret Murphy, a retired Homer judge accused of perjuring herself before a Kenai grand jury on November 3, 2022. In a turn of events, the arraignment was postponed to June 23, 2023, due to an unexpected recusal by the originally assigned judge, Judge Jason M. Gist.

According to Anchorage Daily News, on May 8, 2023, Judge Margaret Murphy was indicted on April 28, 2023. She was indicted for perjury, a Class B felony, committed on November 3, 2022. Murphy’s arraignment was scheduled for May 9, 2023, at the 2:30 PM hearings in Kenai. In a turn of events, the arraignment was postponed due to an unexpected recusal by the originally assigned judge, Judge James M. Gist.

Supporters of the Kenai Peninsula grand jury called into the Kenai courtroom to listen to the arraignment on May 9 arraignment. Some uninformed Alaskans sat through hours of hearings only to find out the arraignment of Murphy was rescheduled. At the end of the May 9 afternoon hearing, citizen callers were addressed by the court clerk to clear the line for the day. A caller asked the clerk what day the arraignment was rescheduled to be on. The clerk declined to answer.

Referring to Alaska’s online CourtView, the hearing for Murphy’s arraignment has been rescheduled to June 23, 2023, Courtroom 4, at the Kenai Courthouse.

On April 28, 2023, charging documents were filed against Judge Margaret Murphy. Murphy’s indictment was filed in the Superior Court, following a grand jury's decision to formally accuse Murphy of a crime. The court then issued a summons with a written arraignment script, which obligated Murphy to appear in court.

The special prosecuting attorney, Clint Campion, pursued the case against Murphy on behalf of the State of Alaska. Campion practices at the Sedor Wendlandt, Evans and Filippi firm. According to their website, Campion served nine years in the U.S. Army. He is marked as a “Member/Owner” of the firm.

Furthermore, SWEF describe Campion as: “Clint’s practice focuses on litigation, education law, health care law, and employment law. His prior litigation experience focused on criminal jury trials and military courts-martial. Clint has expertise in representing service members and peace officers in need of legal representation.”

Source: Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans and Filippi

According to Anchorage Daily News, “Campion was a longtime prosecutor and served as Anchorage district attorney from 2015 to 2017 before going into private practice. It’s rare but not unheard of for the Alaska Department of Law to hire private attorneys as independent prosecutors in cases that present special conflicts.

Campion’s name is a familiar one for those well informed of Haeg’s court case. On February 6, 2012 Campion signed the letter denying Haeg’s complaint requesting an investigation into crimes committed Marla Greenstein, the 30+ year lead judicial investigator from being investigated:

Murphy’s arraignment was originally in the Kenai courtroom of Judge Jason M. Gist. On May 4, 2023, Campion filed a Non-Opposed Motion to Continue Arraignment motion. The Order Granting Non-Opposed Motion to Continue Arraignment was on May 8, 2023. The contents within the motions are not disclosed to the public, leaving room for speculation about the underlying cause that required a continuance.

Alaska’s online CourtView search of Murphy’s name shows multiple cases on record. The reopened case of case number 3KN-23-00416CR contains a list of legal actions taken on May 8. The order granting the continuance of the arraignment was filed along side the Recusal and Request for Reassignment. It was followed by the Recusals of Judges Lance Joanis, Kelly Lawson and Jason Gist.

Background

The case connected to Judge Murphy’s charge of perjury is regarding the State of Alaska and its courts mistreatment of David Haeg, an Alaskan game guide. In a letter from Haeg’s to the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, to Marla Greenstein, discusses Judge Murphy and Trooper Gibbons were seen spending personal time together. Murphy was Haeg’s penalty phase judge, and Trooper Gibbons was a key witness against Mr. Haeg. Ever since, Haeg’s cries of foul play have been ignored for decades.

In the subsequent years after Haeg felt he was unjustly treated, grand jury investigations into his matter were repeatedly suspended. The day of Murphy’s perjury was a month prior to the efforts made to prevent Marla Greenstein from testifying. Greenstein has been the lead judicial investigator for the past 30 years. She was subpoenaed before the grand jury to answer their concerns. To prevent Greenstein from going under oath, the State and the Supreme Court promptly changed the rules of the game by Supreme Court Order 1993 and changes to Criminal Rules 6 and 6.1. These rules were enacted within days of Greenstein’s subpoena before the grand jury.

  Source: American Judicature Society

According to American Judicature Society, Greenstein is described as:

“Marla N. Greenstein is the Executive Director of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, a position she has held since 1989. She also serves as Secretary of the Board of the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel. She previously served as senior staff attorney for the Alaska Judicial Council and as senior staff attorney for the American Judicature Society in Chicago. Ms. Greenstein served as Chair of the Lawyers Conference of the American Bar Association (ABA)’s Judicial Division from 1996-97, Co-Chair and Vice-Chair of the ABA’s Judicial Division Ethics and Professionalism Committee, and a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the American Judicature Society. She is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago School of Law and holds an undergraduate degree in American Government and Philosophy from Georgetown University. Ms. Greenstein serves on the Alaska Bar’s Ethics Committee and Fair and Impartial Courts Committee. She is the Ethics Column Editor for the ABA’s Judges Journal, authoring the quarterly column. She has lectured widely in the area of judicial ethics and has served as faculty for international judicial ethics seminars in Micronesia and Russia”.

Many Alaskans believe the passing of SCO 1993 was meant to protect Greenstein from being subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury. It led to multiple protests being held at courthouses across Alaska. The 2022 actions by the State and its courts were a large blow to the movement behind the Kenai Peninsula grand jury investigating crimes committed by the governmental and judicial branch of Alaska. This grand jury has been suspended multiple times due to, in part, the complicit interference of the Alaska government.

Charges against Murphy IS just the tip of the iceberg in identifying Alaska government corruption. The recent perjury charges against Judge Murphy have been welcomed news to many Alaskans who have been seeking to hold the State and its courts responsible for their crimes and incompetence. A growing number of Alaskans are finding they are not alone. They find others that have their own stories of pain to share. All of whom are seeking to find justice in a system stacked against them.

Source: Donn Liston

Find more about Haeg’s story at AlaskaStateofCorruption.com , or AlaskaGrandJurorsAssociation.org

Sources:

1. Alaska Court System. (06 DEC 2022) Press Release: Presiding Judges Appointed for 2023. Alaska Court System. Retrieved on July 29, 2023. http://www.courts.alaska.gov/media/docs/2022/pr-2023-pj.pdf

2. American Judicature Society. Conference Speakers - Marla N. Greenstein, Executive Director, Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct. America Judicature Society. Retrieved on May 10, 2023. https://americanjudicaturesociety.org/national-conference/speakers/

3. Board, Riley. (14 MAR 2023). Kelly Lawson appointed to Kenai Superior Court (kdll.org). KDLL. Retrieved on May 11, 2023. https://www.kdll.org/local-news/2023-03-14/kelly-lawson-appointed-to-kenai-superior-court

4. Boots, Michelle T. (10 May 2023). Former judge indicted by Kenai investigative grand jury has court appearance delayed. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on May 9, 2023. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2023/05/09/judge-indicted-by-kenai-investigative-grand-jury-has-court-appearance-delayed/

5. Boots, Michelle T. (05 MAY 2023). Perjury charge for retired Homer judge signals a victory for grand jury activists in Alaska. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on May 10, 2023.

6. Clint Campion - Sedor Wendlandt Evans & Filippi (sweflaw.com)

7. CourtView Justice Solutions (alaska.gov). https://records.courts.alaska.gov/eaccess/home.page.6

8. Liston, Donn. (02 JUL 2023). Kenai Court Judges Jennifer K. Wells & William F. Morse: “Never Mind the Alaska Constitution…”. Donn Liston, Alaska’s Advocate Writer. Retrieved on May 11, 2023. https://donnliston.co/2022/07/kenai-court-corruption/

9. Mason, Mike. (23 JUL 2023). Former Homer judge arraigned on perjury charges. Alaska’s News Source. Retrieved June 29, 2023. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.alaskasnewssource.com/2023/06/24/former-homer-judge-arraigned-perjury-charges/%3foutputType=amp

10. Williams, Tess. (06 JAN 2023). Alaska’s former acting attorney general appears in court on charges of sexual abuse of a minor (adn.com). Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on July 29, 2023. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/crime-courts/2023/01/05/alaskas-former-acting-attorney-general-appears-in-court-on-sexual-abuse-of-a-minor-charges/