List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court

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

List of justices

#JusticeHometownBorn–diedBegan termEnded termTerm as
chief justice		Appointed byReason for termination
1Buell A. NesbettAnchorage1910–1993August 1959March 19701959–1970Egan (D)resignation
2John H. DimondJuneau1918–1985August 1959November 30, 1971—Egan (D)resignation
3Walter Hartman HodgeNome1896–1975August 1959March 1960—Egan (D)appointed to D. Alaska
4Harry ArendFairbanks1903–1966May 1960January 1965—Egan (D)lost retention election
5Jay RabinowitzFairbanks1927–2001March 8, 1965February 28, 19971972–1975
1978–1981
1984–1987
1990–1992		Egan (D)mandatory retirement
6Roger G. ConnorAnchorage[1]1926–1999December 2, 1968May 1, 1983—Hickel (R)resignation
7George Frank BoneyAnchorage1930–1972December 2, 1968August 30, 19721970–1972Hickel (R)death
8Robert ErwinAnchorage[2]1934–2020August 3, 1970April 15, 1977—Miller (R)resignation
9Robert BoocheverJuneau1917–2011March 22, 1972October 19801975–1978Egan (D)appointed to 9th Cir.
10James Martin FitzgeraldAnchorage1920–2011December 1972March 1975—Egan (D)elevation to D. Alaska
11Edmond W. BurkeAnchorage1935–2020April 4, 1975December 1, 19931981–1984Hammond (R)resignation
12Warren MatthewsAnchorage1939–May 26, 1977April 5, 20091987–1990
1997–2000		Hammond (R)mandatory retirement
13Allen T. ComptonJuneau1938–2008December 12, 1980November 19981995–1997Hammond (R)resignation
14Daniel A. Moore Jr.Anchorage1933–2022July 10, 1983December 19951992–1995Sheffield (D)resignation
15Robert L. EastaughAnchorage1943–April 18, 1994November 2, 2009—Hickel (AI)resignation
16Dana FabeAnchorage1951–January 1996June 20162000–2003
2006–2009
2012–2015		Knowles (D)resignation
17Alex BrynerAnchorage1943–February 1997October 20072003–2006Knowles (D)resignation
18Walter L. CarpenetiJuneau1945–November 1998January 20132009–2012Knowles (D)resignation
19Daniel WinfreeFairbanks1953–January 2008February 6, 20232021–2023Palin (R)mandatory retirement
20Morgan ChristenAnchorage1961–April 5, 2009January 10, 2012—Palin (R)appointed to 9th Cir.
21Craig StowersAnchorage1954–2022December 3, 2009June 1, 20202015–2018Parnell (R)resignation
22Peter J. MaassenAnchorage1955–August 9, 2012January 13, 20252023–2025Parnell (R)mandatory retirement
23Joel BolgerAnchorage1955–February 1, 2013June 30, 20212018–2021Parnell (R)resignation
24Susan M. CarneyFairbanks1962–June 2016incumbent2025–presentWalker (I)—
25Dario BorghesanFairbanks1979–July 1, 2020incumbent—Dunleavy (R)—
26Jennifer S. HendersonAnchorage1976–July 7, 2021incumbent—Dunleavy (R)—
27Jude PateSitka—March 22, 2023incumbent—Dunleavy (R)—
28Aimee A. Oravec——January 31, 2025incumbent—Dunleavy (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
Nesbett1959–1970
Boney1970–1972
Rabinowitz1972–1975
Boochever1975–1978
Rabinowitz1978–1981
Burke1981–1984
Rabinowitz1984–1987
Matthews1987–1990
Rabinowitz1990–1992
Moore1992–1995
Compton1995–1997
Matthews1997–2000
Fabe2000–2003
Bryner2003–2006
Fabe2006–2009
Carpeneti2009–2012
Fabe2012–2015
Stowers2015–2018
Bolger2018–2021
Winfree2021–2023
Maassen2023–2025
Carney2025–present

Succession of seats

Seat 1
Seat established 1959
Nesbett1959–1970
Erwin1970–1977
Matthews1977–2009
Christen2009–2012
Maassen2012–2025
Oravec2025–present
Seat 2
Seat established 1959
Dimond1959–1971
Boochever1972–1980
Compton1980–1998
Carpeneti1998–2013
Bolger2013–2021
Henderson2021–present
Seat 3
Seat established 1959
Hodge1959–1960
Arend1960–1965
Rabinowitz1965–1997
Bryner1997–2007
Winfree2008–2023
Pate2023–present
Seat 4
Seat established 1968
Connor1968–1983
Moore1983–1995
Fabe1996–2016
Carney2016–present
Seat 5
Seat established 1968
Boney1968–1972
Fitzgerald1972–1975
Burke1975–1993
Eastaugh1994–2009
Stowers2009–2020
Borghesan2020–present

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%

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.