Alaska Governor Bill Walker announced a trio of new court appointments Monday.
Here in Kenai, Lance Joanis will become a new Superior Court judge.
Joanis has worked in the district attorney’s offices in Anchorage, Bethel and here in Kenai, and he has been the Assistant Attorney General in Kenai’s Child Protection Section since 2011.
Joanis graduated from law school at the University of Idaho College of Law and moved to Bethel to take the Alaska bar exam. He replaces Judge Anna Moran who is retiring after seven years in the Superior Court.
Criminal defense and civil litigation attorney Thomas Temple will join the Fairbanks Superior Court. After serving in the Marines during the Gulf War and working his way through college and law school at George Mason University, Temple’s practiced law in Alaska for 16 years.
Amy Mead will join the Juneau Superior Court. She’s been the City and Borough of Juneau’s municipal attorney since 2013. After graduating from Tulane University Law School, she began her career as a law clerk in Ketchikan, working her way up to become the city’s Assistant District Attorney.
In his announcement, Governor Walker said he was grateful for the three’s willingness to serve.