Alaska Supreme Court justice vacancy (February 2023)
| Alaska Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Winfree vacancy |
| Date: February 6, 2023 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Jude Pate |
| Date: January 20, 2023 |
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) appointed Jude Pate to the Alaska Supreme Court on January 20, 2023. Pate succeeded Justice Daniel Winfree, who retired on February 6, 2023. Pate was Gov. Dunleavy's third nominee to the five-member court.[1]
At the time of the vacancy under Alaska law, the governor appointed a justice from a pool of names provided by the nominating commission. After occupying the seat for at least three years, the appointee would run in a yes-no retention election and, if retained, would serve a subsequent term of ten years.[2]
Ballotpedia has compiled the following resources on the process to fill the Alaska Supreme Court vacancy:
- An overview of the appointee.
- A list of finalists recommended to the governor.
- A list of candidates who applied to the vacancy.
- An overview of the selection process.
- An overview of the court following the vacancy.
- An overview of the justice who left office.
- A list of other state supreme court appointments in 2023.
The appointee
- See also: Jude Pate
Before his appointment to the Alaska Supreme Court, Pate was a judge for the Alaska Superior Court. Previously, he worked as a public defender. Pate earned a B.S. in journalism from the University of Kansas in 1989 and a J.D. from the Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law in 1993.[3]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Ballotpedia will post information on candidates and prospective appointees as information becomes available. If you know of information that should be included here, please email us.
Finalists
The Alaska Judicial Council nominated the following four finalists for consideration by Gov. Dunleavy.[4]
- Superior Court Judge Dani Crosby
- Attorney Kate Demarest
- Attorney Aimee Oravec
- Superior Court Judge Jude Pate
Applicants
The following seven candidates applied for the vacancy.[4]
- Superior Court Judge Dani Crosby
- Attorney Kate Demarest
- Attorney Aimee Oravec
- Superior Court Judge Jude Pate
- Attorney Margaret Paton-Walsh
- Superior Court Judge Paul Roetman
- Attorney Holly Wells
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Alaska
The five justices on the Alaska Supreme Court are selected through the assisted appointed method. Each justice is appointed from a list of two or more nominees compiled by the Alaska Judicial Council.[5]
The initial term of a new justice is at least three years, after which the justice stands for retention in an uncontested yes-no election. Subsequent terms last ten years.[6] For more information on these elections, visit the Alaska judicial elections page.
Qualifications
To serve on this court, a justice must be:
- a U.S. citizen;
- a state resident for at least five years;
- licensed to practice law in the state;
- active in law practice for at least eight years; and
- under the age of 70.[7][8]
Chief justice
The chief justice is chosen by a vote of the other supreme court justices and serves a three-year term.[9]
Vacancies
The process of filling interim judicial vacancies is identical to that of filling ones that would occur at the end of a justice's term. The governor appoints a justice from a pool of names provided by the nominating commission. After occupying the seat for at least three years, the appointee runs in an uncontested yes-no retention election and, if retained, will serve a subsequent term of ten years.[10][11]
The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.
Alaska Judicial Council
- See also: Alaska Judicial Council
The Alaska Judicial Council, also known as the AJC, is an independent state commission in Alaska established by the Alaska Constitution that plays a role in the state's judicial selection process.[12] The AJC has seven members, selected by both the governor and the Alaska Bar Association, and its chair is the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Alaska Supreme Court
Justices
Following Daniel Winfree's retirement, the Alaska Supreme Court included the following members:
| ■ Dario Borghesan | Appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) in 2020 | |
| ■ Susan Carney | Appointed by Gov. Bill Walker (I) in 2016 | |
| ■ Jennifer S. Henderson | Appointed by Mike Dunleavy (R) in 2021 | |
| ■ Peter J. Maassen | Appointed by Gov. Sean Parnell (R) in 2012 |
About the court
Founded in 1959, the Alaska Supreme Court is the court of last resort in Alaska. The Supreme Court hears appeals from lower courts and administers the state's judicial system. It has final appellate jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters. The current chief of the court is Susan Carney.
About Justice Winfree
- See also: Daniel Winfree
Justice Winfree joined the Alaska Supreme Court in 2007. He was appointed to the court by Governor Sarah Palin (R).
Before serving on the state supreme court, Winfree spent 25 years in private practice. He started Winfree Law Office in 1996. He also worked as general counsel and executive director of the Greater Fairbanks Community Hospital Foundation. He served as president of the Alaska Bar Association's board of governors and of the Western States Bar Conference.[13]
Winfree earned a B.S. in finance from the University of Oregon in 1977. He earned an M.B.A. and J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.[13]
Other state supreme court appointments in 2023
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2023
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2023. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2022.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Alaska Public Media, "Dunleavy picks Sitka judge for Supreme Court, first justice in decades from small-town Alaska," January 23, 2023
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Alaska," accessed October 2, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "Application for Judicial Appointment," July 20, 2022
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alaska Beacon, "Alaska Judicial Council nominates four for upcoming vacancy on state Supreme Court," December 6, 2022
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "Selection Law - Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Concerning Judicial Selection: Alaska Constitution Article IV, Section 5. Nomination and Appointment," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Concerning Judicial Retention/Evaluation: AS 15.35.030. Approval or rejection of supreme court justice," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "AS 22.05.070. Qualifications of justices," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "AS 22.25.010. Retirement of Justices and Judges," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Court System, "Court System Information," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Concerning Judicial Retention/Evaluation: AS 15.35.030. Approval or rejection of supreme court justice," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "Selection Law - Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Concerning Judicial Selection: Alaska Constitution Article IV, Section 5. Nomination and Appointment," accessed March 23, 2023
- ↑ Alaska Constitution, "Judiciary," accessed July 14, 2021
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Alaska Judicial Council, "Application for Judicial Appointment," June 25, 2007
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Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Alaska • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Alaska
State courts:
Alaska Supreme Court • Alaska Court of Appeals • Alaska Superior Court • Alaska District Court
State resources:
Courts in Alaska • Alaska judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alaska
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