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Alaska Supreme Court justice vacancy (January 2025)
| Alaska Supreme Court |
|---|
 |
| Maassen vacancy |
| Date: January 13, 2025 |
| Status: Seat filled |
| Nomination |
| Nominee: Aimee Oravec |
| Date: November 27, 2024 |
Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) appointed Aimee Oravec to the Alaska Supreme Court to replace Chief Justice Peter J. Maassen, who retired on January 13, 2025. Oravec is Gov. Dunleavy's fourth nominee to the five-member supreme court. Since the chief justice is elected through a chamber vote, Maassen's replacement will be appointed to an associate justiceship, and the Alaska Supreme Court will hold another election to decide the next chief justice. To learn about how chief justices are selected in state supreme courts nationwide, click here. Oravec was sworn in on January 31, 2025.
In Alaska, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
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.[1][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 2025.
The appointee
- See also: Aimee Oravec
Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) appointed Aimee Oravec to the Alaska Supreme Court on November 27, 2024. She took office on January 31, 2025.[3]
Prior to her appointment to the Alaska Supreme Court, Oravec was the lead attorney for Doyon Utilities LLC. She also previously served on the Alaska Judicial Council for six years as an attorney member, from 2012 to 2018.[4]
Appointee candidates and nominations
Finalists
On November 8, 2024, the Alaska Judicial Council (AJC) released a list of three unanimously-approved finalists who had applied to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. From here, this list will go to Governor Mike Dunleavy (R), who will make the final appointment. The list of finalists were:[5]
- Senior Assistant Attorney General Kate Demarest
- Third district court judge Josie Garton
- Attorney Aimee Oravec[6]
Applicants
The Alaska Judicial Council (AJC) released a list of seven candidates that had applied to fill the Supreme Court vacancy. From here, the AJC will send a list to Governor Mike Dunleavy (R), who will make the final appointment. The list of applicants were:[7]
- Senior Assistant Attorney General Kate Demarest
- Third district court judge Josie Garton
- Attorney Aimee Oravec
- Attorney Margaret O. Rogers
- First Assistant United States Attorney Kate Vogel
- Attorney Holly C. Wells
- Senior Assistant Attorney General Laura Wolff[8]
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Alaska
In Alaska, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a hybrid judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission who has no majority of members selected either by the governor or the state Bar Association. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
Makeup of the court
- See also: Alaska Supreme Court
Justices
Following Maassen'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, and retained in 2020 | |
| ■ Jennifer S. Henderson | Appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) in 2021 | |
| ■ Jude Pate | Appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) in 2021 |
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 Chief Justice Maassen
- See also: Peter J. Maassen
Maassen earned his B.A. from Hope College in 1977 and his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1980. Prior to joining the court, he worked in private practice and in the Office of General Counsel at the U. S. Department of Commerce.[9]
Maassen was the 22nd justice to join the Alaska Supreme Court. He was appointed in August 2012 and retained by voters in 2016.
Other state supreme court appointments in 2025
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2025
The following table lists vacancies on state supreme courts that opened in 2025. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2024.
| 2025 State Supreme Court Vacancies |
|---|
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 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 Judicial Council, "Current Alaska Judges," accessed February 7, 2025
- ↑ Alaska Beacon, “Gov. Dunleavy appoints Fairbanks lawyer Oravec to Alaska Supreme Court" accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name
- ↑ Anchorage Daily News, "3 nominated for upcoming vacancy on Alaska Supreme Court," November 9, 2024
- ↑ Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by last name
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, "Applicants for Alaska Supreme Court," accessed August 22, 2024
- ↑ Alaska Supreme Court, "Peter J. Massen," accessed June 11, 2021
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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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