The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court in the State of Alaska's judicial department (Alaska Court System). The supreme court is composed of the chief justice and four associate justices, who are all appointed by the governor of Alaska (see List of Governors of Alaska) and face judicial retention elections and who choose one of their own members to serve a three-year term as Chief Justice. The decisions of the Alaska Supreme Court are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only other court that may reverse or modify those decisions is the Supreme Court of the United States. In the United States, the state supreme court (known as the supreme judicial court in some states) is usually the highest court in the state court system. ... A U.S. state is any one of the 50 states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, together with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ... State nickname: The Last Frontier, The Land of the Midnight Sun Other U.S. States Capital Juneau Largest city Anchorage Governor Frank Murkowski Official languages English Area 1,717,854 km² (1st)  - Land 1,481,347 km²  - Water 236,507 km² (13. ... The judiciary, also referred to as the judicature, consists of justices, judges and magistrates among other types of adjudicators. ... A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... In many countries such as Canada and the United States the Chief Justice is the name for the presiding officer on a senior court such as the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Canada or provincial or state supreme courts. ... A judge or justice is an appointed or elected official who presides over a court. ... A governor is also a device that regulates the speed of a machine. ... This is a list of the governors of the U.S. state of Alaska, of Alaska Territory and of the District of Alaska, and the military commanders of the District of Alaska. ... See Election (movie) for the film directed by Alexander Payne. ... Under the laws of the United States, most disputes are properly taken to the courts of the state in which the dispute arose. ... Seal of the Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest federal court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States to interpret the Constitution of the United States and decide...

The supreme court hears appeals from lower state courts and also administers the state's judicial system. It hears cases on a monthly basis in Anchorage, approximately quarterly in Fairbanks and Juneau, and as needed in other Alaska communities. The court prefers to hear oral argument in the city where the case was heard in the trial court. This article is about the legal term. ... Note: an anchorage is a place where a ship lays anchor. ... Fairbanks is a city located in Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. ... Juneau redirects here. ... Oral arguments are verbal presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or the party when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. ... A trial court or court of first instance is the court in which most civil or criminal cases begin. ...

Appointment and Retention

Justices, like other Alaska state court judges, are selected in accordance with the Missouri Plan. The governor of Alaska appoints a supreme court justice from a list of qualified candidates submitted by the Alaska Judicial Council. To be eligible for appointment, a person must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Alaska for five years prior to appointment. A justice must be licensed to practice law in Alaska at the time of appointment and must have engaged in the active practice of law for eight years. The appointed justice must be approved by the voters on a nonpartisan ballot at the first statewide general election held more than three years after appointment; thereafter, each justice must participate in another retention election every ten years. Also known as the merit plan, the Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan) is a method for the nonpartisan selection of judges currently used in 11 U.S. states. ...

The Chief Justice

The five supreme court justices, by majority vote, select one of their members to be the chief justice. The chief justice holds that office for three years and may not serve consecutive terms. The chief justice is also the administrative head of the Alaska Court System. The current Chief Justice, Alexander O. Bryner, began his term as chief justice in July 2003. He was appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court in 1997 and had previously served on the Alaska Court of Appeals since its inception in 1980. July is the seventh month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Jurisdiction

The supreme court has final state appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal law matters. It must accept appeals from final decisions by the superior court in civil cases (including cases which originated in administrative agencies). Until the creation of the court of appeals in 1980, the supreme court was also required to accept appeals from final decisions in criminal cases; now, however, the court of appeals fills this role, although the supreme court still has jurisdiction to exercise its discretion to accept appeals from decisions of the court of appeals (or upon certification from the court of appeals that the case involves a significant question of constitutional law or an issue of substantial public interest). In addition, the supreme court may, at its discretion, hear petitions from non-final decisions by lower courts or original applications in matters in which relief is not otherwise available, including admission to the bar association and attorney discipline matters, as well as questions of state law certified from the United States federal courts. The appellate jurisdiction refers to matters which a court can hear after being ruled on by another court. ... Civil law has at least three meanings. ... Criminal law (also known as penal law) is the body of law that punishes criminals for committing offences against the state. ... The term jurisdiction has several meanings. ... Constitutional law is the study of foundational laws that govern the scope of powers and authority of various bodies in relation to the creation and execution of other laws by a government. ... Public interest is a term used to denote political movements and organizations that are in the public interest—supporting general public and civic causes, in opposition of private and corporate ones (particularistic goals). ... A bar association is a body of lawyers who, in some jurisdictions, are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession. ... A lawyer is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law (and in other forms of dispute resolution). ... Discipline is any training intended to produce a specific character or pattern of behaviour, especially training that produces moral or mental development in a particular direction. ... State law, in the United States, is the law of each separate U.S. state, as passed by the state legislature and signed into law by the state governor. ... The United States federal courts are the system of courts organized under the Constitution and laws of the federal government of the United States. ...

Decisions

The court meets after oral argument and on a bi-weekly basis to confer on cases argued orally and on cases submitted on the briefs. The court usually announces its decisions of the cases by issuing opinions for official publication (in Westlaw, the Pacific Reporter and the Alaska Reporter) as well as memorandum opinions and judgments (MO&Js) and orders summarily ruling on the merits of cases or dismissing them. Although the MO&Js and most orders are not published, the MO&Js are available for public inspection at the Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau offices of the clerk of the appellate courts, and the orders are filed in the clerk's Anchorage office. Current MO&Js are also available on the Alaska Court System website. Westlaw is one of two major fee-based online legal research systems, providing access to state and federal statutes, case law materials, public records, and other legal resources. ... The front page of the English Wikipedia website. ...

Rules and Administration

Under the Alaska Constitution, the supreme court establishes rules for the administration of all courts in the state and for practice and procedure in civil and criminal cases. The supreme court has further adopted rules for the practice of law in Alaska and procedural rules for children's matters, probate, and appeals. The Alaska Legislature may change the court's procedural rules by passing an act expressing its intent to do so by a two-thirds majority of both houses. Wiktionary has a definition of: Administration Organisational use In some organisational analyses, administration can refer to the bureaucratic or operational performance of mundane office tasks, usually internally oriented. ... In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister, solicitor or civil... A male Caucasian toddler child A child (plural: children) is a young human. ... Probate is the legal process of settling a dead persons estate: specifically, distributing his property. ...

Justices

• Alexander O. Bryner (since 1997), Chief Justice (since 2003)
• Warren W. Matthews (since 1977), Associate Justice
• Robert L. Eastaugh, (since 1994), Associate Justice
• Dana Fabe (since 1996), Associate Justice
• Walter L. Carpeneti, (since 1998), Associate Justice

External links

• Alaska Appellate Courts
• Alaska Court System