Walter Carpeneti

Walter Carpeneti
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Current Court Information:
Alaska Supreme Court
Title:	Chief Justice
Service:
Appointed by:	Tony Knowles
Active:	1998-2013
Chief:	2009-2012
Preceded by:	Warren Matthews
Past post:	Alaska Superior Court
Past term:	1981-1998
Personal History
Born:	1945
Undergraduate:	Stanford University, 1967
Law School:	University of California at Berkeley, 1970

Walter L. "Bud" Carpeneti is the Chief Justice of the five member Alaska Supreme Court. He was elected to his term as chief by his peers in 2009 and will step down from the position in July 2012. He was appointed to the court in 1998 by Governor Tony Knowles. Justice Carpeneti was retained for another ten year term in 2002. Carpeneti has announced his retirement from the court effective January 31, 2012.

2012 election

Carpeneti is eligible to stand for retention, but he has announced his retirement and won't be on the ballot.

Education

Carpeneti earned his undergraduate degree with distinction in History from Stanford University in 1967. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970.

Professional career

Carpeneti was a law clerk for Justice John Dimond of the Alaska Supreme Court in 1970-71. From 1972 to 1974 he was in private practice in San Francisco, first with Melvin Belli and then in an office with his father, retired San Francisco Superior Court Judge Walter I. Carpeneti, and his brother, Richard Carpeneti. He returned to Alaska in 1974 to be the Public Defender in Juneau. He left that office in 1978 to go into private practice with William T. Council, where he remained until appointed to the Superior Court by Governor Jay Hammond in 1981. He was appointed to Alaska Supreme Court in 1998, a position to which he still serves.

Awards and Associations

Associations

• Member, Alaska Judicial Council
• Member, Alaska Bar Association
• Member, State Bar of California
• Member, Alaska Rules of Evidence Drafting Committee
• Member, Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct
• Member, Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee
• Member, Criminal Sentencing Practices and Procedures Committee
• Managing Editor, University of California at Berkeley Law Review
• Chair, Judicial Education Committee

Elections

2002 Election

Alaska Supreme Court Justice Retention 2002 General election results
Candidates		Votes	Percent
For retention		130,566	66.7%
Against retention		65,117	33.3%

• Click here for 2002 General Election Results from the Alaska Secretary of State.

Alaska Judicial Council

The Alaska Judicial Council recommended unanimously (5-0) that he be retained. The AJC conducted a survey of 2,860 attorneys in Alaska, who rated Justice Carpeneti on ten categories. Overall, his rating was 4.5 on a scale of 5, where "5" means "excellent".

• He scored highest (4.5) in the categories of "conduct free from impropriety," "courtesy", and "understanding and compassion."
• He scored 4.4 or better in all ten categories.

The AJC also surveyed court employees, who rated Carpeneti 4.7 on a scale of 5 on overall performance.

Summary categories	Attorney survey	Court employee survey
Legal ability	4.4	-
Impartiality	4.5	4.8
Integrity	4.6	4.8
Temperament	4.6	4.8
Diligence	4.5	4.3
Overall	4.5	4.7

See also

• News: Justices in Alaska and New Mexico announce retirement, June 18, 2012
• Alaska Supreme Court

External links

• Alaska Court System
• Walter Carpeneti on NNDB
• Carpeneti's 2011 State of the Judiciary address

References

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