Walter L. Carpeneti

Walter L. Carpeneti
Walter Carpeneti, at left, swearing in Byron Mallott as lieutenant governor of Alaska on December 1, 2014.
Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
In office July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2012
Preceded by	Dana Fabe
Succeeded by	Dana Fabe
Associate Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court
In office November 4, 1998 – January 2013
Appointed by	Tony Knowles
Preceded by	Allen T. Compton
Succeeded by	Joel Bolger
Judge of the Alaska Superior Court for the First Division
In office 1981–1998
Appointed by	Jay Hammond
Preceded by	Thomas B. Stewart
Succeeded by	Patricia A. Collins
Personal details
Born	(1945-01-25) January 25, 1945 San Francisco, California, U.S.
Education	Stanford University (BA) UC Berkeley (JD)

Walter Louis "Bud" Carpeneti (born January 25, 1945) is an American lawyer and jurist, who served as the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 2009 to 2012. He attended Stanford University and Berkeley School of Law. A Californian, Carpeneti moved to Alaska to clerk for two earlier Alaska Supreme Court justices.

Early life and education

Born and raised in San Francisco, California, Carpeneti was the son of San Francisco Superior Court Judge Walter I. Carpeneti. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in history from Stanford University in 1967 and a Juris Doctor from the UC Berkeley School of Law in 1970, the younger Carpeneti became a law clerk for Alaska Supreme Court Justices John H. Dimond and Jay Rabinowitz.

Early career

Returning to San Francisco in 1972 after the clerkships, Carpeneti initially entered private practice with Melvin Belli before joining in private practice with his father, retired Judge Walter I. Carpeneti, and his brother, Richard Carpeneti.

Leaving the family law practice, Carpeneti returned to Alaska in 1974 to join the Alaska Public Defender Agency as supervising attorney of its Juneau office. He left the Public Defender Agency in 1978 to enter private practice with William T. Council. During this time, he was a member of the Alaska Judicial Council and of the committee that drafted the Alaska rules of evidence. He was also the reporter to the Supreme Court's Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee.

Alaska judicial service

On October 15, 1981, Governor Jay Hammond appointed Carpeneti to the Alaska Superior Court. While on the Superior Court, he was a member of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct and of the Three-Judge Sentencing Panel. He was also chair of the Supreme Court's Criminal Sentencing Practices and Procedures Committee.

In 1998, Governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat, appointed Carpeneti to the Alaska Supreme Court. While on the Supreme Court, he chaired its Judicial Education Committee.

Carpeneti served as the 16th chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court from 2009 to 2012. During his term as chief justice, he also served as second vice president on the board of directors of the national Conference of Chief Justices.

Family life

In 1969, Carpeneti married Anne Dose, with whom he has four children: Chris, Marianna, Lia, and Bianca.