Alaska's constitution and laws require the governor to fill judicial vacancies by appointing from a list of applicants screened by the Judicial Council. The Council must present the governor with at least two choices for each vacant judgeship. This merit selection system seeks to limit judicial appointments to what one constitutional framer referred to as "the best available timber." The framers hoped to avoid the selection of judges based on political connections, ability to raise political funding, and which applicants could campaign the best or promise the most favors for particular interest groups.

• Current Judicial Vacancies
• Alaska Judicial Applicant Guidelines
• Current Judicial Application Forms 
• Current Judicial Application Form which can be filled in on the Internet
• Historical Log of Judicial Appointments
• Judicial Selection Procedures
• Constitutional and Statutory Provisions concerning Judicial Selection
• Excerpts from Alaska's Constitutional Convention Minutes