Dana Fabe


Dana Anderson Fabe was a member of the Alaska Supreme Court from March 1996 until her retirement in June 2016. She served three terms as the court's chief justice. She was the first woman appointed to the Alaska Supreme Court and the Alaska Supreme Court's first female chief justice.

Life

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, she grew up in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood and attended The Seven Hills School. She attended Cornell University and Northeastern University School of Law, before moving to Alaska in the 1970s.
Following the retirement of U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter, U.S. Senator Mark Begich recommended her as a possible successor in a letter to President Barack Obama.
An Indian Law and Order Commission report in 2013 of its investigation into public safety and justice system in Alaska Native villages commended Fabe's efforts to adapt traditional Native practices in sentencing, calling them "innovative, impressive and welcome."