Alaska Supreme Court Justice Daniel E. Winfree of Fairbanks has been selected as the next chief justice of the stateâs highest court, a position he will assume on July 1, the Alaska Court System announced.
Winfree, 68, will be the first Alaskan-born chief justice and the second chief justice from Fairbanks. He will replace Chief Justice Joel H. Bolger, whose term ends June 30.
Winfree has served on the Alaska Supreme Court since 2008. As chief justice, he will preside over arguments and conferences of the Alaska Supreme Court, appoint presiding judges for all judicial districts and chair the Alaska Judicial Council.
The grandson of Yukon and Alaska gold rushers, Winfree was born in Fairbanks in 1953, when Alaska was a territory.