Alaska Court of Appeals

The court of appeals consists of a chief judge and three associate judges, who are all appointed by the governor of Alaska (see List of governors of Alaska) and face judicial retention elections every eight years; the chief judge of the court of appeals is selected from among the four by the chief justice of the supreme court to serve a two-year term.

All Alaska state court judges are selected in accordance with the Missouri Plan.

The appointed judge 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 court of appeals judge must participate in another retention election every eight years.

The court of appeals usually announces its decisions of cases by issuing memorandum opinions and judgments (MO&Js) and orders summarily ruling on the merits of cases or dismissing them, as well as opinions for official publication (in Westlaw, the Pacific Reporter and the Alaska Reporter).

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.