Judicial selection in Alaska

Judicial selection in Alaska
Alaska Supreme Court
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	10 years
Alaska Court of Appeals
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	8 years
Alaska Superior Court
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	6 years
Alaska District Court
Method:	Assisted appointment
Term:	4 years

Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.

This article covers how state court judges are selected in Alaska, including:

• Alaska Supreme Court,
• Alaska Court of Appeals,
• Alaska Superior Court, and
• Limited jurisdiction courts

As of March 2023, judges for all courts in the state were selected through the assisted appointment method, where the governor selects a nominee from a list provided by a nominating commission.

Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.

Alaska Supreme Court

See also: Alaska Supreme Court

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.

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. 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.

Chief justice

The chief justice is chosen by a vote of the other supreme court justices and serves a three-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.

Alaska Court of Appeals

See also: Alaska Court of Appeals

The four judges on the Alaska Court of Appeals 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.

The initial term of a new judge is at least three years, after which the justice stands for retention in an uncontested yes-no election. Subsequent terms last eight years. 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.

Chief judge

The chief judge of the court of appeals is selected by the supreme court's chief justice. He or she serves in that capacity for two years.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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 eight years.

Alaska Superior Court

See also: Alaska Superior Court

The judges of the Alaska Superior Courts 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.

The initial term of a new judge is at least three years, after which the justice stands for retention in an uncontested yes-no election. Subsequent terms last six years. 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 five years; and
• under the age of 70.

Chief judge

The presiding judge from each of Alaska's four judicial districts is selected by the supreme court's chief justice. He or she serves in that capacity for one year.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

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 six years.

Limited jurisdiction courts

Alaska has one type of limited jurisdiction court: Alaska District Courts.

Alaska District Courts

See also: Alaska District Courts

Judges of the Alaska District Courts 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. The initial term of a new judge is two years, after which the justice stands for retention in an uncontested yes-no election. Subsequent terms last four years. For more information on these elections, visit the Alaska judicial elections page.

Alaska Judicial Council

The Alaska Judicial Council is composed of:

• three non-lawyer members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by a majority of the legislature in joint session;
• three lawyer members who are appointed by the board of governors of the Alaska Bar Association; and
• the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, who serves as the ex officio chair.

Article IV of the Alaska Constitution states that appointments to the Alaska Judicial Council must be made with "due consideration to area representation and without regard to political affiliation."

Members of the Alaska Judicial Council serve staggered six-year terms, except for the chief justice who serves for three years.

History

Below is a timeline noting changes to judicial selection methods in Alaska in reverse chronological order:

• 1980: The Alaska Legislature created the Alaska Court of Appeals. Judges were chosen through merit selection to serve eight-year terms.
• 1975: The legislature passed a bill, proposed by the Judicial Council, requiring that performance evaluations of all sitting judges be conducted by the council before retention elections, and that this information be made available to the public. The council also may, but is not required to, make recommendations as to whether the judges should be retained.
• 1968: The legislature created the Alaska District Courts, with the judges chosen by merit selection to serve four-year terms.
• 1959: Alaska became a state. In the original Alaska Constitution, a merit plan was established for the selection of supreme and superior court judges. The terms of supreme court judges were set at ten years, and those of the superior court judges were set at six years.

Courts in Alaska

Courts in Alaska include a state court system, one federal district court, and approximately 79 Native American tribal courts.

Alaska's court system is a "unified, centrally administered, and totally state-funded" system. The Alaska Supreme Court and Alaska Court of Appeals are the state's appellate courts; the superior courts and district courts serve as trial courts.

Click a link for information about that court type.

• Federal courts
• State supreme court
• State court of appeals
• Trial courts

The image below depicts the flow of cases through Alaska's state court system. Cases typically originate in the trial courts and can be appealed to courts higher up in the system.

The structure of Alaska's state court system.

Selection of federal judges

United States district court judges, who are selected from each state, go through a different selection process from that of state judges.

The district courts are served by Article III federal judges, who are appointed for life during good behavior. They are usually first recommended by senators (or members of the House, occasionally). The President of the United States nominates judges, who must then be confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article III of the United States Constitution.

Proposals to change selection methods

2002

In 2002, Sen. Gene Therriault (R) introduced SB159, which would have reduced the length of the term that judges on the Alaska Court of Appeals served between retention elections from eight to four years. The bill passed through the Senate State Affairs Committee, but the term limits were changed in the bill from four to six years. No further action was taken by the legislature on this bill.

2001

In 2001, Sen. Robin Taylor (RR) introduced SJR22, which would have reduced the length of the term that judges served in between retention elections to the same limits prescribed by SJR15 in 1999. The bill passed through the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Finance Committee without changes. No further action was taken by the legislature on this bill.

1999

In 1999, Sen. Loren Leman (R) introduced a bill SJR15 to amend the Alaska Constitution. The bill would have required that judicial appointees be confirmed by a majority vote of the Alaska State Legislature, reducing the terms judges serve between retention elections. Under the bill, state supreme court justices would be up for retention after six years instead of ten, and superior court judges would be up for retention every four years instead of six. The Senate Judiciary Committee removed the provision requiring confirmation by the legislature from the bill before passing it out of committee. No further action was taken by the legislature on this bill.

In other states

Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:

Election

• Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
• Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
• Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
• Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.

Assisted appointment

• Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
  • Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
  • Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
  • Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.

Direct appointment

• Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
• Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
• Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
• Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.

Click a state on the map below to explore judicial selection processes in that state.

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http://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_STATE

See also

State courts	Appointment methods	Election methods
State supreme courts Intermediate appellate courts Trial courts	Assisted appointment Court appointment Gubernatorial appointment Legislative election Municipal government selection	Partisan election Nonpartisan election Michigan method

External links

• Alaska Court System
• Alaska Judicial Council

Footnotes

Alaska courts

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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