Redistricting Overload - Hearing Today Raises A Bunch Of Issues And Trove Of Court Filings

 Between updating my COVID page - another record high number of cases today (5321 over two days) - and a two hour pre-trial hearing on the Redistricting Board Cases -there's way too much to do.  I have to clean up my rough notes - to make them legible but also to help me clarify the key issues that came up.  I will say there were two big issues today:

• Waiting on a ruling by the judge about how much of the Board's documentation is covered by attorney-client privilege and the Open Meetings Act.
• How neutral would a presentation on the Board's software by the Board's executive director be?  The Board's attorney offered it so the judge and the people attending the trial would have a basic understanding of how it works.  But Valdez' attorney Robin Brena says he'd want his expert witness to be able to follow with a presentation on the "correct use" of the software, because how the Board used it wasn't correct

Meanwhile they were also talking about the depositions which will be used for the direct testimony - that is the witnesses' direct testimony will be profiled to the court in the form of depositions.  So, I'm thinking, how will the public know what the witnesses said in the first place when they are being cross examined?  

On Courtview, if you take the right path*, you can see a list of documents the various attorneys and the judge have filed.  But you can't open them.  PACER is a way to see documents in Federal Court.  

*On the link, there are tabs - go to DOCKET.  

So I emailed the judge's clerk to find out how the public and journalists can get access.  

She quickly responded that she'll get fuller answers to my questions, but that the documents in this case are being posted on the Court's "Most Requested Appellate Case Files" page.  There are three cases there.  

1. Kohlhaas et al. v. SOA et al. - Proposition 2 (2020) constitutionality
2. Short, Madilyn et al vs. Dunleavy, Michael J et al - Constitutional Budget Reserve Sweep - Higher Education Investment Fund and
3. Wilson Felisa et al vs. Alaska Redistricting Board - Redistricting

The third one is the one of interest.  But as you look down the list of links, the latest one is December 29, 2021.  Today is January 14, 2022.  They are two weeks behind and the document I really want to see is the one about Attorney-Cleinte Privelege and the Open Meetings Act, which the judge said he'd rule on shortly.  

OK, that's enough of a preview.  Probably most of you would prefer I kept all posts this short.  I will add that the next court pretrial hearing is Sunday, January 16, 2022 at 1pm,  You can watch on Judge Matthews' YouTube channel.  

My life would be, of course, much easier without access to all that documentation - there are thousands of pages.  

The following is dessert for those who choose to indulge.  It is from the list of documents and is the proposed witness list for the Anchorage plaintiffs - challenging the Eagle River Senate Pairings.  Remember, this is proposed and over two weeks old now.  

"Holly C. Wells
Mara E. Michaletz
William D. Falsey
Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot 510 L Street, Suite 700 Anchorage, Alaska 99501 hwells@bhb.com mmichaletz@bhb.com wfalsey@bhb.com Telephone: 907.276.1550 Facsimile: 907.276.3680

Attorneys for Plaintiffs Felisa Wilson, George Martinez, and Yarrow Silvers

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT FOR THE STATE OF ALASKA

THIRD JUDICIAL DISTRICT AT ANCHORAGE

) In the Matter of the ) ) 2021 REDISTRICTING PLAN. ) ) )

Case No. 3AN-21-08869CI

EAST ANCHORAGE PLAINTIFFS’ PRELIMINARY WITNESS LIST

COME NOW Plaintiffs Felisa Wilson, George Martinez, and Yarrow Silvers (the “East Anchorage Plaintiffs”), by and through undersigned counsel, and hereby file this Preliminary Witness List:
I. EAST ANCHORAGE PLAINTIFFS’ CASE-IN-CHIEF WITNESSES

A. Fact Witnesses

1. Felisa Wilson (via affidavit)
c/o Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot 510 L Street, #700
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 276-1550

Scope of Testimony: Ms. Wilson is a resident of House District 23. She is expected to testify regarding her experiences and participation in and observations of the 2021 redistricting process, and the dilution of East Anchorage voters within adopted House District 23, including that of her own influence regarding her legislative needs and her observations regarding the communities of interest at issue in this case. Ms. Wilson is also expected to testify regarding the Board member’s reliance and reference to her testimony regarding the proposed and/or adopted senate pairings.

2. Sean Murphy (via affidavit) 17906 Kantishna Drive

Eagle River, AK 99577 (907) 632-5307

Scope of Testimony: Mr. Murphy is a resident of House District 22. He is expected to testify regarding his experiences and participation in and observations of the 2021 redistricting process and the needs and interests he experiences as a resident of the Eagle River community of interest and House District 22. He is expected to testify regarding the differences between the needs and interests of the Eagle River community when compared to the East Anchorage communities of interest with which it is paired in the adopted plan.

3. Yarrow Silvers (via affidavit)   Attorney-Client Privilege
c/o Birch Horton Bittner & Cherot 510 L Street, #700
Anchorage, AK 99501
(907) 276-1550

Scope of Testimony: Ms. Silvers is a resident of House District 21. She is expected to testify regarding her experiences and participation in and observations of the 2021 redistricting process, and the dilution of East Anchorage voters within adopted House District 21, including that of her own influence regarding her legislative needs and her observations regarding the communities of interest at issue in this case.

4. David Dunsmore (via affidavit) 6321 Brown Tree Circle

Anchorage, AK 99507 (907) 830-4288

Scope of Testimony: Mr. Dunsmore is expected to testify regarding his experiences and participation in and observations of the 2021 redistricting process with emphasis on his observations of the November 8 and 9, 2021 redistricting meetings, including work sessions, and the Board member’s related conduct.

5. Kevin McGee (via affidavit)
President NAACP Anchorage Branch #1000 Post Office Box 200089
Anchorage, AK 99520
(907) 272-8717 naacpanchorage2017@gmail.com

Scope of Testimony: Mr. McGee is the President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Alaska Branch #1000 (“NAACP”). He is expected to testify regarding the NAACP’s mission and vision and the impact that the adopted senate pairings have on that mission and vision as well as the NAACP’s engagement and participation in the communities of interest implicated and impacted by the adopted senate pairings that include Eagle River.

B. Expert Witness

1. Chase Hensel
Morrow and Hensel Consulting 1674 Redfox Drive
Fairbanks, AK 99709
(907) 699-2107 cell chasehensel1@gmail.com

Scope of Testimony: Mr. Hensel is expected to testify as an expert witness for the East Anchorage Plaintiffs. He is expected to testify regarding the senate pairings adopted by the Alaska Redistricting Board, the contiguity of the pairings challenged by the East Anchorage Plaintiffs and other impacted districts. He will also testify regarding the communities of interest within the paired districts challenged by the East Anchorage Plaintiffs, and the dilution of the voting influence of voters in the East Anchorage Communities, as that term was defined in the East Anchorage Plaintiff’s Application.

II. DEFENDANT OR OTHER PLAINTIFF WITNESSES TO BE RELIED UPON AT TRIAL

1. E. Budd Simpson
   c/o Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. 420 L Street, #400
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 339-7125

2. John Binkley
   c/o Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. 420 L Street, #400
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 339-7125

I

3. Bethany Marcum
   c/o Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. 420 L Street, #400
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 339-7125

4. Melanie Bahnke
   c/o Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. 420 L Street, #400
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 339-7125

5. Nicole Borromeo
   c/o Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, P.C. 420 L Street, #400
   Anchorage, AK 99501
   (907) 339-7125

Scope of testimony by Redistricting Board members: While the East Anchorage Plaintiffs do not have knowledge of the full scope of the testimony by Board members, the East Anchorage Plaintiffs will be focusing their examination of these witnesses on their deliberations, considerations, and/or the lack thereof regarding the “East Anchorage Communities” identified in the East Anchorage Plaintiffs’ Application and House Districts 22 and 24.

6. Randy Ruedrich (via deposition) 1515 West 13th Ave

Anchorage, AK 99501 (907) 586-8090

Scope of Testimony: While the East Anchorage Plaintiffs do not have knowledge regarding Mr. Ruedrich’s testimony beyond the description provided in the Calista Plaintiffs’ Witness List, the East Anchorage Plaintiffs intend to examine Mr. Ruedrich regarding his influence and participation in the 2021 redistricting process with an emphasis on his input on senate pairings proposed and/or adopted by the Alaska Redistricting Board, the political affiliation and voting patterns of the house districts at issue in the Application to Compel the Alaska Redistricting Board to Correct Its Senate District Pairings in Anchorage, and any other subject matters that arise during his deposition testimony as an expert for the Calista Plaintiffs.

III. EAST ANCHORAGE PLAINTIFFS’ GENERAL WITNESSES

1. Expert witnesses as they are determined to be necessary and identified during the course of discovery.

2. All witnesses necessary to authenticate documents to whose admissibility other parties are unwilling to stipulate.

3. All witnesses listed by other parties.

4. All witnesses identified in the course of subsequent discovery or

investigation

5. All witnesses whose depositions are taken in this case.

6.  All witnesses necessary for rebuttal purposes.

DATED this 28th day of December, 2021.

BIRCH HORTON BITTNER & CHEROT Attorneys for Plaintiffs

By: /s/ Holly C. Wells
Holly C. Wells, ABA #0511113 Mara E. Michaletz, ABA #0803007 William D. Falsey, ABA #0511099"