Anchorage Judge Should Resign

By Dan Fagan
Publisher
The Alaska Standard

There are some positions in which we must demand the very highest of standards of those who fill them. Those with the highest ethical standards should only fill any position that involves enforcing the law. Judges, prosecutors, police all have been given tremendous discretionary power over the lives of others. Men and women trusted with these positions should be held to the very strictest of standards.

It is this reason Anchorage Superior Court Judge Patrick McKay should do the right thing and resign. McKay blew a .157, almost twice the legal limit for driving. Apparently McKay wasn’t finished drinking when pulled over in a construction zone on the Glenn Highway. He had a water bottle with red wine in it in the car.

This was 57-year old McKay’s second DUI. His first came in 1988.

McKay told visiting District Judge Keith Levy he was sorry for his behavior.

"I sincerely apologize to my family and my friends and my colleagues on the bench, including you, for the public humiliation that I've caused by my actions, and I accept full responsibility for those,"

"It affects the public confidence in the judicial system, in this system that I support," McKay said. "It's a system that should never receive any public scorn, certainly not as a result of my poor judgment."

McKay is no longer qualified to sit in judgment of others after breaking the law in such a serious manner two different times. As is the case with most DWI offenders, they often drink and drive multiple times before they are caught. There is no reason to believe it is any differently with McKay. Especially since McKay had wine in an open container while he was driving. This proves this was not just a case of having a few too many before leaving a bar or a party.

Next month McKay will report to a halfway house to serve five days and he will pay a $1,500 fine. He’ll also have a device on his car that is supposed to prevent a car from starting if a driver has been drinking. He'll have that device on his car for a year, once he's able to drive again.

The Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct will take up this case and determine if McKay should be censured.

The Alaska Bar Association will also look into the case but it is unlikely the bar will strip McKay of his license.
Bottom line is McKay should still be able to practice law but not as a judge. His actions prove he is no longer fit to sit in judgment of others.