Alaska Supreme Court

From Judgepedia

The Alaska Supreme Court is Alaska's court of last resort. It was established in the Alaska Constitution as adopted in the state's first constitutional convention in 1956, becoming operative in 1956 when Alaska officially achieved statehood. Five justices sit on the court. One of them is elected as the court's Chief Justice by the other justices. The current chief justice is Walter Carpeneti. The court hears cases on a monthly basis in Anchorage, approximately quarterly in Fairbanks and Juneau, and as needed in other Alaska communities. The court prefers to hear argument in the city where the case was heard in the trial court.^[1]

Jurisdiction

The Court can hear cases previously tried in lower state courts, and also oversees the state's judicial system.

The Supreme Court is required to accept appeals from previous decisions made by any Alaska Superior Court judge regarding civil issues, and including cases that originated in administrative agencies. The court has the option, though, to hear appeals for criminal cases or petitions. In order for a criminal appeal to be heard, the appropriate appeals court must certify that the case involves a significant question of constitutional law, or it must be an issue of substantial public interest. The Supreme Court can choose whether or not to accept petitions "from non-final decisions by the superior court in civil cases and from final decisions of the superior court on review of the distric court's decision in civil matters."^[2]

The court's justices

Selection of justices

Alaska's supreme court justices are chosen using the Commission-selection, political appointment method of judicial selection. The Alaska Judicial Council forwards a list of its nominees to the governor, who must choose a name from the list within 45 days to fill any vacancy. Justices serve 10-year terms on the court. Appointed justices are then subject to a retention election at the state's first general election that is more than 3 years after the appointment. After that, the five justices are subject to a retention elections every ten years. Apart from retirement, judges in Alaska can be removed in one of two ways. First, they may be suspended, removed from office, or censured by the Supreme Court upon the recommendation of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct. ^[3] Secondly, they may be impeached by two thirds of the Alaska Senate and subsequently convicted by two thirds of the House of Representatives.

Qualifications

To be eligible to serve as a justice on the court, four standards must be met:

• The prospective judge must a citizen of the United States.
• The nominee must have been a resident of Alaska for at least five years prior to his or her appointment.
• The nominee must have had a license to practice law in Alaska at the time of appointment.
• The nominee must have been actively engaged in law practice for eight years prior to the appointment.

Current justices

Name	Appointed	Term expires	Appointed by
Dana Fabe	1996	2010	Tony Knowles (Democrat)
Chief Justice: Walter Carpeneti	1998	2012	Tony Knowles (Democrat)
Morgan Christen	2009	2012	Sarah Palin (Republican)
Craig Stowers	2009	-	Sean Parnell (Republican)
Daniel Winfree	2007	2012	Sarah Palin (Republican)

See List of Justices of the Alaska Supreme Court

Chief justice

Walter Carpeneti is the current Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. The chief justice is chosen by the majority vote of the five justices. The chief justice holds the office for three years and may not serve consecutive terms.

History of the court

The Alaska Supreme Court has had nineteen justices since the court was established in 1956. The main seat of the court is in Anchorage, Alaska, at the Boney Courthouse, which is named after a former justice of the court, George Boney, who served on the court from December 1968-August 1972.

2009 vacancies

Warren Matthews resigned from the court in April 2009. Six attorneys applied for the opening and were evaluated by the Alaska Judicial Council.^[4] Morgan Christen and Eric Smith were the two finalists chosen by the Judicial Council for appointment. Governor Sarah Palin chose Judge Christen as the new appointee.

Justice Eastuagh also retired in 2009. A record 25 applications for his seat were received. After the Alaska Judicial Council narrowed the field, they gave their recommendation of seven candidates to the Governor. The nominees were: David Case, Andy Harrington, Michael MacDonald, Eric Smith, Craig Stowers, Philip Volland and Daniel Westerburg. ^[5] Craig Stowers was appointed on December 2, 2009.^[6][7][8]

External links

• Alaska Court System
• Alaska Bar Association
• Alaska Case Law Service
• Alaska 2008 judicial retention information (PDF). Scroll to pages 78-84.
• Gavel to Gavel. This website broadcasts most oral arguments before the Alaska Supreme Court.

References

v • d • e Justices of the Alaska Supreme Court Current Chief: Carpeneti • Christen • Fabe • Stowers • Winfree Former Arend • Boney • Boochever • Bryner • Burke • Compton • Connor • Dimond • Eastaugh • Erwin • Fitzgerald • Hodge • Nesbett • Matthews • Moore • Rabinowitz

v • d • e Courts in Alaska State appellate courts Alaska Supreme Court • Alaska Court of Appeals State trial courts Alaska Superior Court • Alaska District Court Federal appellate court Ninth Circuit Federal district courts District of Alaska Federal bankruptcy courts Bankruptcy court, Alaska Tribal courts Native American Tribal Courts, Alaska

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