Alaska Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe announced Tuesday she will retire in June, after more than 20 years with the state's highest court.
Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles appointed Fabe to the Supreme Court in January 1996; she was the first woman appointed to serve on the court and later was the first woman to serve as Alaska's Chief Justice, according to the Alaska Court System.
Fabe's two decades on the Supreme Court will make her the third longest-serving justice in state history, after justices Jay Rabinowitz and Warren Matthews.
"I love my work on the Supreme Court: It is constantly challenging and rewarding. And I have enjoyed working with all of my past and present colleagues on the court as well as the wonderful court staff. In fact, I was eligible to retire over four-and-a-half years ago, but I have stayed because I love what I do," Fabe said in an email.
Fabe said she intends to continue to assist the court after retirement, including possible work as a pro-tem justice or mediating cases for programs that help self-representing parties resolve family law cases.
She added that the work of the Supreme Court is all-encompassing, and she was looking forward to enjoying her free time in Alaska.
During her tenure, Fabe created outreach programs for students to learn about the legal system. She is credited with expanding the Supreme Court LIVE program, which brings oral arguments in actual cases to be heard in high schools statewide. Fabe also created MentorJet, a "speed-mentoring" program offered to students interested in law careers, the court system said.
Fabe's opinions spanned a wide array of cases, including decisions addressing topics like abortion, jurisdiction of tribal courts and, more recently, a dispute over property taxes for the trans-Alaska pipeline.
In 2010, some of Fabe's rulings nearly caused voters to unseat her from the Supreme Court. Voters narrowly rejected an effort to oust by a group of social conservatives who criticized her rulings involving abortion, gay marriage, benefits for same-sex partners of state workers and prison rights. She was retained with just over 50 percent of the vote.
Fabe gave early notice of her retirement because the process for filling the spot can take up to eight months, the court system said.
Susanne DiPietro, executive director of the Alaska Judicial Council, said the process of choosing who will fill the vacancy created by Fabe's retirement hasn't started. The council has to submit at least two nominees within 90 days of Fabe's retirement, she said.
The most recent appointment to the Alaska Supreme Court was Joel Bolger in Jan. 2013.