Alaska Supreme Court

The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions bind every other Alaska state court, and the only court to which they can be appealed is the Supreme Court of the United States. Besides hearing appeals from the lower state courts, it also administers the state judicial system. The court has five justices, one of whom the others choose to serve as chief justice for a three-year term. Justices are appointed by the governor from a slate of candidates approved by the Alaska Judicial Council, an independent commission of lawyers and lay citizens, and each faces a retention election after the third year of service and once every ten years after that. The court hears cases monthly in Anchorage, about quarterly in Fairbanks and Juneau, and elsewhere as needed.