Nome Court has new deputy magistrate
The Alaska Court System has a new deputy magistrate in Nome.
Crystal Toolie, the clerk of court in the Nome Court, was promoted to deputy magistrate on August 27.
“Becoming a deputy magistrate is a natural progression for Clerks of Court,” Toolie told the Nugget. “Most clerks of court in the State of Alaska become DMs. Becoming a DM allowed for me to further my training in law and procedure and now allows me to assist with backup judicial coverage throughout the Second Judicial District.”
Toolie’s new role will allow her to take on more responsibilities in the court, particularly on weekends.
“When other judges are unavailable, I am now able to accept criminal complaints to review for probable cause, issue summons and arrest warrants, preside over bail hearings, felony first appearances, misdemeanor and minor offense arraignments, accept guilty or no contest pleas in misdemeanor and minor offense cases, order sentences following pleas accepted, issue marriage licenses and perform marriages, issue ex parte and emergency domestic violence protective orders, issue ex parte and emergency stalking and sexual assault protective orders,” she said.
“I feel like this brings me full circle,” Toolie said. “I started out as a criminal [court] clerk where I had to initiate criminal complaints in CourtView. I then became a Community Service Officer and Police Officer where I had to write complaints, now I’m in a position where I’ll be reviewing complaints for probable cause. No matter the case, it’s always good to be able to see and experience from different sides which helps in seeing the full picture.”
Toolie underwent a rigorous training process prior to receiving her certification.
“There are 18 Magistrate Judge lessons that the Deputy Magistrate has to go through before receiving their certification, and the DM in training is assigned to a training judge who reviews their work and then provides a certification to the presiding judge,” explained Court Administrator Brodie Kimmel. “The coursework is very time intensive and time consuming and is a very challenging program. After the training judge certifies that they pass the coursework, the DM has to observe weekend arraignments with the training judge, and then be observed while handling weekend procedures with the training judge.”
Toolie hopes that her new role will encourage other locals to get involved, too.
“I hope this encourages people from our region to want to work for the justice system,” she said.