List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court

Last updated

This is a list of persons who have served as justices of the Alaska Supreme Court .

Contents

List of justices

#JusticeHometownBorn–diedBegan termEnded termTerm as
chief justice
Appointed byReason for termination
1 Buell A. Nesbett Anchorage 1910–1993August 1959March 19701959–1970 Egan (D)resignation
2 John H. Dimond Juneau 1918–1985August 1959November 30, 1971Egan (D)resignation
3 Walter Hartman Hodge Nome 1896–1975August 1959March 1960Egan (D)appointed to D. Alaska
4 Harry Arend Fairbanks 1903–1966May 1960January 1965Egan (D)lost retention election
5 Jay Rabinowitz Fairbanks1927–2001March 8, 1965February 28, 19971972–1975
1978–1981
1984–1987
1990–1992
Egan (D)mandatory retirement
6 Roger G. Connor Anchorage [1] 1926–1999December 2, 1968May 1, 1983 Hickel (R)resignation
7 George Frank Boney Anchorage1930–1972December 2, 1968August 30, 19721970–1972Hickel (R)death
8 Robert Erwin Anchorage [2] 1934–2020August 3, 1970April 15, 1977 Miller (R)resignation
9 Robert Boochever Juneau1917–2011March 22, 1972October 19801975–1978Egan (D)appointed to 9th Cir.
10 James Martin Fitzgerald Anchorage1920–2011December 1972March 1975Egan (D)elevation to D. Alaska
11 Edmond W. Burke Anchorage1935–2020April 4, 1975December 1, 19931981–1984 Hammond (R)resignation
12 Warren Matthews Anchorage1939–May 26, 1977April 5, 20091987–1990
1997–2000
Hammond (R)mandatory retirement
13 Allen T. Compton Juneau1938–2008December 12, 1980November 19981995–1997Hammond (R)resignation
14 Daniel A. Moore Jr. Anchorage1933–2022July 10, 1983December 19951992–1995 Sheffield (D)resignation
15 Robert L. Eastaugh Anchorage1943–April 18, 1994November 2, 2009Hickel (AI)resignation
16 Dana Fabe Anchorage1951–January 1996June 20162000–2003
2006–2009
2012–2015
Knowles (D)resignation
17 Alex Bryner Anchorage1943–February 1997October 20072003–2006Knowles (D)resignation
18 Walter L. Carpeneti Juneau1945–November 1998January 20132009–2012Knowles (D)resignation
19 Daniel Winfree Fairbanks1953–January 2008February 6, 20232021–2023 Palin (R)mandatory retirement
20 Morgan Christen Anchorage1961–April 5, 2009January 10, 2012Palin (R)appointed to 9th Cir.
21 Craig Stowers Anchorage1954–2022December 3, 2009June 1, 20202015–2018 Parnell (R)resignation
22 Peter J. Maassen Anchorage1955–August 2012incumbent2023–presentParnell (R)
23 Joel Bolger Anchorage1955–February 1, 2013June 30, 20212018–2021Parnell (R)resignation
24 Susan M. Carney Fairbanks1962–June 2016incumbent Walker (I)
25 Dario Borghesan Fairbanks1979–July 1, 2020incumbent Dunleavy (R)
26 Jennifer S. Henderson Anchorage1976–July 7, 2021incumbentDunleavy (R)
27 Jude Pate Sitka 1965–March 22, 2023incumbentDunleavy (R)

Chief justices

The Supreme Court had only one chief justice, Buell Nesbett, during its first decade of existence. Alaska voters approved a constitutional amendment in 1970, months after Nesbett's retirement, which set the current limits for chief justices, namely that they are allowed to serve three-year non-consecutive terms.

Chief Justice
Nesbett 1959–1970
Boney 1970–1972
Rabinowitz 1972–1975
Boochever 1975–1978
Rabinowitz 1978–1981
Burke 1981–1984
Rabinowitz 1984–1987
Matthews 1987–1990
Rabinowitz 1990–1992
Moore 1992–1995
Compton 1995–1997
Matthews 1997–2000
Fabe 2000–2003
Bryner 2003–2006
Fabe 2006–2009
Carpeneti 2009–2012
Fabe 2012–2015
Stowers 2015–2018
Bolger 2018–2021
Winfree 2021–2023
Maassen 2023–present

Succession of seats

Retention election history

Justices face a retention election in the first regularly scheduled election after they have served three full years, and every ten years thereafter. Only one justice, Harry Arend, has lost a retention election. [3]

Election YearJustice NameYes VotesPercentageNo VotesPercentage
1962Nesbett37,87272.1%14,67927.9%
Dimond38,87373.4%14,08326.6%
1964Arend29,88446.7%34,05553.3%
1968Rabinowitz48,48465.3%25,80234.7%
1972Connor63,50272.8%23,75227.2%
1974Erwin54,90767.5%26,46032.5%
1976Boochever73,06267.3%35,47632.7%
1978Burke73,84168.6%33,80631.4%
Rabinowitz72,97867.8%34,72932.2%
1980Matthews75,99153.5%66,09546.5%
1982Connor104,27561.5%65,24038.5%
1984Compton125,75969.6%54,96830.4%
1986Moore107,42069.0%48,15931.0%
1988Burke124,82773.0%46,12427.0%
Rabinowitz100,78959.1%69,70740.9%
1990Matthews110,03665.1%58,89734.9%
1994Compton119,08964.3%66,15735.7%
1998Eastaugh127,79464.9%69,03135.1%
2000Bryner138,74961.4%87,34738.6%
Fabe130,62057.1%98,18342.9%
Matthews134,65760.8%86,80639.2%
2002Carpeneti130,56666.7%65,11733.3%
2008Eastaugh172,44063.5%98,94436.5%
2010Fabe126,88554.4%106,52445.6%
2012Winfree165,77764.9%89,55335.1%
2014Stowers146,82962.9%86,53437.1%
2016Bolger157,22557.9%114,44042.1%
Maassen154,30457.5%114,20542.5%
2020Carney200,59863.0%117,66037.0%

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References

  1. Was raised in Juneau and resided there until just months before his appointment to the court.
  2. Was born and raised in Seward.
  3. "Primary, General, and Statewide Special Election Results". Alaska Division of Elections.