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Warren Wayne Matthews Jr. (born April 5, 1939) is an American lawyer and jurist who was a justice of the
Alaska Supreme Court The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court for the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only court its decisions may be appealed to is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Ala ...
from 1977 to 2009. Matthews served as the 8th and 12th chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court. His service from May 1977 to April 2009 makes him the second-longest serving justice in
Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...
history, slightly less than that of Jay Rabinowitz. Born in
Santa Cruz, California Santa Cruz (Spanish language, Spanish for "Holy Cross") is the largest city and the county seat of Santa Cruz County, California, Santa Cruz County, in Northern California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population ...
, Matthews graduated from San Benito High School in
Hollister, California Hollister is a city in and the county seat of San Benito County, located in the Central Coast region of California, United States. With a 2020 United States census population of 41,678, Hollister is one of the most populous cities in the M ...
in 1957, where he says he was inspired to become an attorney when one paid a visit to his classroom. He went on to earn his bachelor of arts degree from
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
in 1961 and his juris doctor degree from
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...
in 1964. Matthews came to Alaska in 1965 to serve as an associate at the
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...
of Burr, Boney & Pease in
Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
. 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. Then, in 1977, Republican
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Jay Hammond Jay Sterner Hammond (July 21, 1922 – August 2, 2005) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pi ...
appointed Matthews as an associate justice of the
Alaska Supreme Court The Alaska Supreme Court is the state supreme court for the U.S. state of Alaska. Its decisions are binding on all other Alaska state courts, and the only court its decisions may be appealed to is the Supreme Court of the United States. The Ala ...
. 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 The Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) was created in 1949 after the need for an organization composed of the states' and territories' top jurists was amply discussed at the American Bar Association and other juridical organizations. The first mee ...
.


Noted opinions

Matthews wrote the 4–1
majority opinion In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision. Not all cases hav ...
in the 1981 Supreme Court case of ''Nix v. Alaska'', in which he ruled that an
undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...
police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...
gaining access to a residence was not a violation of the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures, stating, "the use of
undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...
police agents 'is a highly necessary tool in fighting crime.'" In 2007, Matthews dissented in the 3–2 Supreme Court decision of ''Alaska v.
Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization
'' in which the Court struck down Alaska's law requiring parental consent for minors to obtain abortions while Matthews supported the law, arguing: "Without a parent's consent, inorsmay not become licensed drivers or get married or obtain general medical or dental treatment." Later that year, Matthews wrote the
dissenting opinion A dissenting opinion (or dissent) is an Legal opinion, opinion in a legal case in certain legal systems written by one or more judges expressing disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which gives rise to its judgment. Dissenting opi ...
in the 3–2 Supreme Court decision ''Godfrey, d/b/a Mendenhall Valley Tesoro v. State of Alaska, Community and Economic Development'', in which the court supported Alaska's law holding retailers legally liable if their employees (even unknowingly) sold tobacco to minors. Matthews opposed the law, arguing that the law was too broad in not allowing a retailer to argue that a clerk was not negligent.


Legacy

Several of his former
law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...
s eventually went on to prominence in Alaskan politics: Supreme Court Justice
Craig F. Stowers Craig F. Stowers (June 11, 1954 – February 10, 2022) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice, and the 18th chief justice, of the Alaska Supreme Court. He was appointed by Governor of Alaska, Governor Sean Parnell i ...
,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Daniel S. Sullivan, and
State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...
Lindsey Holmes. Since retiring from the Supreme Court in 2009, Matthews has served as a
pro tem ''Pro tempore'' (), abbreviated ''pro tem'' or ''p.t.'', is a Latin phrase which best translates to 'for the time being' in English. This phrase is often used to describe a person who acts as a '' locum tenens'' ('placeholder'). The phrase is ...
judge.


Personal life

Warren Matthews has been married to Donna since 1963. They have two daughters: Holly (born ca. 1974), a psychiatric social worker; and Meredith (born ca. 1978), an attorney in private practice.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Warren W. 1939 births Living people Stanford University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Justices of the Alaska Supreme Court People from Santa Cruz, California People from Hollister, California Politicians from Anchorage, Alaska Lawyers from Anchorage, Alaska Chief justices of the Alaska Supreme Court