Three of the four presiding Superior Court judges have been reappointed, outgoing Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Daniel E. Winfree announced in a news release.
Superior Court Judge Amy Mead has been reappointed for the First Judicial District, Superior Court Judge Paul A. Roetman for the Second Judicial District and Superior Court Judge Terrence P. Haas for the Fourth Judicial District. In addition, Winfree has appointed Superior Court Judge Thomas A. Matthews to the Third Judicial District.
Annually, presiding judges are appointed for the duration of a year by the chief justice for each of the four judicial districts and incumbents are eligible for reappointment. All presiding judges have the administrative responsibility to review the trial court’s operations in the district in addition to regular judicial duties. Presiding judges also work with district court administrators to ensure various needs are met regarding hearing and trial schedules along with staffing.
Mead was appointed to the superior court in Juneau in 2018 and was appointed to the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct as an attorney member in 2012, serving in that role until 2018. Roetman moved to Alaska in 1972 and has lived in Kotzebue for 16 years and was appointed to the superior court in 2010. Matthews was appointed to the Anchorage Superior Court by Governor Bill Walker in 2018 and Haas was appointed to the superior court in Bethel in 2018.
Additionally, Judge Marjorie K. Allard was appointed chief judge of the Alaska Court of Appeals for a two-year term, Winfree announced.
Allard has served on the Court of Appeals since January 2013. This will be her third term as chief judge.
She received her B.A. from Yale University and her law degree from Yale Law School. Prior to joining the Court of Appeals, she served as an assistant public defender at the Alaska Public Defender Agency and as an assistant public advocate at the Office of Public Advocacy. She also taught legal research and writing at Stanford Law School and served as a clinical instructor at Santa Clara Law School.
The Court of Appeals is headquartered in Anchorage. The chief judge serves a two-year term.
• Contact reporter Jonson Kuhn at jonson.kuhn@juneauempire.com.
