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46 Alaska B. Rag 1 (2022)

handle is hein.barjournals/askabar0046 and id is 1 raw text is: Three Ketchikan judges plan to retire this year By Heidi Ekstrand Ketchikan Daily News Used by permission Before this year is out, Ket- chikan is expected to lose three lo- cal judges to retirement, including two life-long local residents, with a combined total of about 60 years of service on the bench among them. Superior Court Judge William Carey, who just turned 68 and has served since 2008, will retire Feb. 28. Superior Court Judge Trevor Stephens, 62, on the bench since 2000, will retire May 31. District Court Judge Kevin Mill- er, 59, appointed in 1999, hasn't set a firm retirement date, but says it's likely to be September... 30-ish. All three plan to remain in Ket- chikan. Susanne DiPietro, executive di- rector of the Alaska Judicial Coun- cil, said it's not unheard of for mul- tiple judicial vacancies to open up in Alaska communities within a short period of time. But she noted the longevity of Ketchikan's three re- tiring judges and agreed, it's been a long time since there's been an opening in Ketchikan! A public hearing by the Judicial Council to receive comments on the applicants for Carey's position was scheduled Jan. 31. A separate public hearing for Stephens is set for May. The council is tasked with screen- Continued on page 9 Former Chief Justice Craig Stowers dies at age 67 Bar Rag staff Former Alaska Chief Justice Craig Stowers died Feb. 10 at the age of 67. He had served on the Alaska Supreme Court from 2009 when he was appointed until 2020 when he retired as Chief Justice. He was born June 11, 1954, in Daytona Beach, FL, and raised in Yorktown, VA. After earning a de- gree in biology at Blackburn College, he went to work for the National Park Service. He was a park ranger at Colonial National Historical Park and transferred to Mount McKinley National Park (as Denali National Park was called at the time) in 1977, where he worked first For more as the East District justice S Naturalist and then turn to as the West District Ranger. After leaving the Park Service he earned his law degree at the Uni- versity of California, Davis, School of Law graduating in 1985. At the time of his death current Chief Justice Daniel Winfree sent the following email to Court employ- ees: Those of you who worked for the court system during our friend and colleague Craig Stowers' term as Chief Justice will recall that he never failed to send out an email when someone connected to the court system was seriously ill or had passed away. This was a touching way to remind people about court history and the court family. Now, I regret having to inform you all that Craig Stowers died - peacefully - last evening. I don't know that Craig ever really got over leaving his job as a park ranger in Denali National Park, but I know he loved his work as a law clerk, judge, jus- tice and chief justice. Craig clerked for Justice Warren Matthews, as well as Ninth Circuit Judge (and former Alaska Supreme Court Justice) Robert Boochever. After a long career in private practice, he was named a Superior Court judge in Anchorage from 2004 until 2009, when he joined the Supreme Court. He served as Chief Justice from 2015-2018. He retired in June 2020. I served with him for about a decade on the Supreme Court and can attest Sabout to his hard work, his towers dedication to justice in page 3 Alaska, his love of the Alaska Court System, and his great sense of humor. Earlier in his career Chief Jus- tice Craig Stowers was a Superior Court judge in Anchorage from 2004 until his appointment to the Su- preme Court in 2009 and was elect- ed by his colleagues on the court to serve as Chief Justice beginning in July 2015 through June 2018. While in law school, he was em- ployed for two years by Professor Daniel Fessler and the Alaska Code Revision Commission to research and draft what became the Alaska Corporations Code, the Alaska Non- profit Corporation Act, and the of- ficial commentary to those acts. He was a partner with Atkinson, Con- way & Gagnon and subsequently co- founded the Anchorage-Fairbanks law firm, Clapp, Peterson & Stow- ers. During his legal and judicial ca- reer, he served on various Alaska Bar Association committees, includ- ing the Law Examiners Committee, and various Alaska Supreme Court committees, including chairing the Child In Need of Aid Rules Com- mittee and the Alaska Court Sys- tem Statewide Security Committee; Former Chief Justice Craig Stowers he was also a member of the CINA Court Improvement Project Com- mittee. He previously served on the Ap- pellate Rules and the Continuing Judicial Education Committees. During his three-years as Chief Jus- tice, Justice Stowers served as chair of the Alaska Judicial Council and a member of the Conference of Chief Justices. He was a commissioner on the National Conference of Com- missioners on Uniform State Laws and a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation. He also served on sev- eral nonprofit corporation boards, including terms as board president of the Alaska National History As- sociation (now known as Alaska Geographic) and board president of Christian Health Associates. He is survived by his wife Mo- nique Stowers. t cU 4d <e a. . Co 0 Co In 4 -a AMON M _ : __- u . - , ~ i -- w N

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