Warren Matthews

Warren Wayne Matthews Jr. (born April 5, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who was a justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 1977 to 2009. He served as the 8th and 12th chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. He is the second-longest serving justice in Alaskan history (from May 1977 to April 2009), slightly less than that of Jay Rabinowitz.

Born in Santa Cruz, California, Matthews graduated from San Benito High School in Hollister, California in 1957. He says that he was inspired to become an attorney when a lawyer paid a visit to his classroom. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University in Stanford, California in 1961 and a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1964.

Matthews moved to Alaska in 1965 to serve as an associate at the law firm of Burr, Boney & Pease in Anchorage. In 1969, he formed the law firm of Matthews, Dunn and Bailey. He served as ethics committee chair for the Alaska Bar Association from 1968 to 1974. In 1977, Republican Governor Jay Hammond appointed Matthews as an associate justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. The other Supreme Court justices elected Matthews to be the 8th chief justice (from 1987 to 1990) and as the 12th chief justice (from 1997 to 2000). As chief justice, he also served concurrently as chairman of the Alaska Judicial Council. The nation's other chief justices elected Matthews as second vice president of the Conference of Chief Justices. Provided by Wikipedia