--- title: "Daniel Edward Winfree | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/daniel-edward-winfree-3694" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Daniel Edward Winfree Alaska Supreme Court · Judge ## Profile - Court: Alaska Supreme Court - State: Alaska - Role: Judge - Service status: former - Last verified: 2026-10-02 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - In his 2023 State of the Judiciary address, Winfree, the first Alaska-born justice to hold the Chief Justice position, delivered an impassioned defense of judicial independence and the merit-based selection process - Chief Justice: served as Chief Justice from July 1, 2021, to February 6, 2023, succeeding Joel Bolger and being succeeded by Peter J. Maassen - American lawyer and jurist who served as Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 2021 to 2023 and as a Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 2008 to 2023 ### Education - M.B.A. — University of California, Berkeley — 1981 - University of California, Berkeley School of Law — J.D. (1981) - Finance — University of Oregon — B.S. (1977) ### Additional information - Active pro tem judge, current in 2026 - Tenure: He served on the court for 15 years, retiring in February 2023 upon reaching the Alaska Constitution’s age limit of 70 The Alaska Current . - Judicial Record: Winfree authored 182 published opinions between 2008–2019, plus 26 dissents and 15 concurrences. - Appointed: In 2008, Governor Sarah Palin appointed Winfree to the Alaska Supreme Court to succeed Alex Bryner. - Private practice in Anchorage, Valdez, and Fairbanks, approximately 1982-2007 - Truck driver and warehouseman in pipeline camps and Prudhoe Bay during Trans-Alaska Pipeline construction, 1975-1978 - Born February 1953 in Fairbanks, Alaska. - He emphasized that “the activist judge is the one who rules against you” and expressed pride in his 15-year service, calling it “a dream come true” The Alaska Current . - Winfree is remembered for his long service on the Alaska Supreme Court, his role in shaping significant legal decisions, and his advocacy for an independent judiciary. - His retirement marked the end of a distinguished judicial career in Alaska’s highest court The Alaska Current . - Among his most cited cases are Christensen v. - Alaska Sales & Service, Inc. (92 citations) and Robinson v. - Alaska Hous. - Fin. - Corp. (89 citations). ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### photography filming recording Scope: statewide Alaska generally prohibits photographing, filming, and recording in courthouse common areas unless an application is approved, while separate courtroom and adjacent-area rules remain governed by Administrative Rule 50 and Administrative Bulletin No. 45. Evidence excerpt: Except as specifically authorized by this order, photographing, filming, and recording are permitted in common areas inside the courthouse only upon the issuance of an approved application. [Presiding Judges' Statewide Order on Use of Cameras and Electronic Devices in Common Areas of Court Facilities](https://courts.alaska.gov/jord/docs/2023/statewide-electronic-devices.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### courtroom media requests Scope: statewide Alaska states that media may request permission from a judicial officer for coverage inside a particular courtroom or adjacent area, and the judicial officer rules on those requests. Evidence excerpt: not intended to interfere with or restrict the rights of the media to request permission from a judicial officer to allow media coverage within a particular courtroom or adjacent area [Presiding Judges' Statewide Order on Use of Cameras and Electronic Devices in Common Areas of Court Facilities](https://courts.alaska.gov/jord/docs/2023/statewide-electronic-devices.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3694/daniel-edward-winfree/) - [Official roster](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3694/daniel-edward-winfree/) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/3694/daniel-edward-winfree/) - [Presiding Judges' Statewide Order on Use of Cameras and Electronic Devices in Common Areas of Court Facilities](https://courts.alaska.gov/jord/docs/2023/statewide-electronic-devices.pdf) - [Hearings & Trials](https://courts.alaska.gov/trialcourts/hearings.htm) - [ajc.alaska.gov](https://ajc.alaska.gov/judges/judgformer.html) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/fy13.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/profile.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/main/ctinfo.htm) - [www.ajc.state.ak.us](https://www.ajc.state.ak.us/judges/judgformer.html) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/fy18.pdf) - [Presiding Judges' Statewide Order on Use of Cameras and Electronic Devices in Common Areas of Court Facilities](https://courts.alaska.gov/jord/docs/2023/statewide-electronic-devices.pdf) - [Hearings & Trials](https://courts.alaska.gov/trialcourts/hearings.htm) - [ajc.alaska.gov](https://ajc.alaska.gov/judges/judgformer.html) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/fy13.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/profile.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/jord/docs/2023/statewide-electronic-devices.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/main/ctinfo.htm) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/trialcourts/hearings.htm) - [www.ajc.state.ak.us](https://www.ajc.state.ak.us/judges/judgformer.html) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/fy18.pdf) - [ajc.alaska.gov](https://ajc.alaska.gov/judges/judgformer.html) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/fy13.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/profile.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/jord/docs/2023/statewide-electronic-devices.pdf) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/main/ctinfo.htm) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/trialcourts/hearings.htm) - [www.ajc.state.ak.us](https://www.ajc.state.ak.us/judges/judgformer.html) - [courts.alaska.gov](https://courts.alaska.gov/admin/docs/fy18.pdf) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/daniel-edward-winfree-3694", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/daniel-edward-winfree-3694", "name": "Daniel Edward Winfree | KnowJudges", "description": "Daniel Edward Winfree, Alaska Supreme Court. 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