The Alaska Judicial Council met in Bethel on November 6, and in Anchorage on November 7 and 8, 2024, to interview applicants for vacancies on the Bethel District Court, and the Alaska Supreme Court. Following its meeting, the Alaska Judicial Council announced that Kate Demarest, Judge Josie Garton, and Aimee Anderson Oravec were nominated as the most qualified applicants to fill the Alaska Supreme Court vacancy. The governor has 45 days in which to make the appointment to the Supreme Court from among these nominees.
For the Bethel District Court, the Council nominated one applicant, Magistrate Judge Colleen Baxter. Because the Council’s vote did not result in at least two sufficiently qualified applicants, the Council declined to submit any names to the governor and will readvertise the position.
The Judicial Council is required to nominate two or more of the most qualified applicants applying for a judicial vacancy. (The framers of our Constitution referred to this standard as the “best available timber.”)
The Council is a citizens’ commission created by the Alaska Constitution composed of three attorneys, three non-attorneys, and the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court.
The Council completes an extensive investigation and evaluation of judicial applicants. The Council reviews each applicant’s education, experience, bar discipline and credit records, participation in community activities, and other records. It asks members of the Alaska Bar to evaluate the applicants, encourages the public to submit comments, and interviews the applicants.
Nominees for the Alaska Supreme Court are: Kate Demarest, Josie Garton, and Aimee Anderson Oravec.
Nominees for the Bethel District Court are: Colleen Baxter. Magistrate Judge Baxter has been an Alaska resident for 54 years and has practiced law for 26 ½ years. She graduated from Temple University, Beasley School of Law in 1996, and is currently a magistrate judge in Kotzebue.
