Justice Bolger sworn into Alaska Supreme Court
|
April 29, 2013
By Kevin Kelly
The courtroom filled with familiar faces last Friday as family, friends, justices and judges came to witness Joel H. Bolger's installation to the Alaska Supreme Court. Chief Justice Dana Fabe joined fellow Justices Daniel Winfree and Peter Maassen in welcoming Justice Bolger to the high court. Judges David Mannheimer, Steve W. Cole, and Alex Swiderski shared congratulatory remarks in their representative capacities on behalf of the appellate and trial courts on which Justice Bolger has served. Two local federal judges, and former colleagues from the superior court, Sharon L. Gleason and Morgan Christen were also in attendance.
The ceremony began with Justice Fabe administering the Oath of Office, followed by short remarks from the justices and judges. Justice Bolger’s brother traveled from Louisiana for the occasion, and he spoke about the responsibility his younger brother took on to help his family through hard times when he was growing up in the Midwest. Donald McClintock of the Alaska Bar Association and Ryan Fortson of the Anchorage Bar Association both gave speeches and commented that they looked forward to working with Justice Bolger in the years to come. The installation ceremony was followed by a reception in the Snow City Café, where friends and colleagues congratulated the new justice.
Raised in Iowa, Justice Bolger attended the University of Iowa College of Law where he earned his J.D. in 1978. Following his graduation from law school, he moved to Alaska where he began his legal career as a VISTA volunteer attorney in Dillingham. Following his volunteer work, Justice Bolger served as an assistant public defender in Barrow and later engaged in private practice on Kodiak Island. His judicial career began in 1997 with his appointment to the Valdez District Court. Bolger served in Valdez for six years and in 2003 moved to Kodiak where he presided over the Kodiak Superior Court until his appointment to the Court of Appeals in 2008. Justice Bolger served on the Court of Appeals until his appointment the Supreme Court on January 25, 2013.[1] He will be up for retention in 2016.[2]
Justice Bolger is the only justice to have served on every level of the Alaska state court system.
See also
Footnotes
| |||||
