Two nominees have been selected for the Nome Superior Court judicial vacancy. Susanne Dipietro, the Executive Director for the Alaska Judicial Council, gave the Council’s decision at the Nome Courthouse around 5pm on Thursday.
“By my tally, the Alaska Judicial Council has nominated two applicants for the Nome Superior Court: Romano DiBenedetto and John Earthman,” Dipietro announced.
John Earthman and Romano DiBenedetto were selected by a margin of 4 votes to 2.
The Alaska Judicial Council met in Nome early Thursday afternoon to hold a final public hearing before nominating two out of the five applicants for Nome Superior Court Judge.
After the seven judicial council members heard comments from the public, they convened to interview one last candidate before entering into a period of deliberation.
Earthman and DiBenedetto’s names will be submitted to Governor Bill Walker for final approval before one of them is appointed to fill the judicial vacancy in Nome.
By law, the Governor must appoint a candidate within 45 days of the Council’s submission; however, due to multiple judicial vacancies around Alaska and a scheduled medical operation out of state this month, Walker has been granted an extension by the Council.
The 45-day timeline will now start on January 2nd.
