Alaska judicial watchdog names new director after 37 years

Alaska's judicial ethics watchdog will operate under new leadership for the first time in nearly four decades when Michael Schwaiger takes over as executive director of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct on June 15. The appointment ends Marla Greenstein's 37-year tenure leading the agency that investigates complaints about Alaska judges and enforces judicial conduct standards.

Schwaiger brings experience as an assistant public advocate handling criminal defense and guardianship cases in rural Alaska. In 2020 he became the first supervising attorney of the Office of Public Advocacy's Rural Defense Section, a role created to expand state-provided defense services outside Alaska's road system. He has also published legal history scholarship on Alaska constitutional law and the Ninth Circuit.

Greenstein's nearly four-decade tenure means most current Alaska judges and attorneys have known only one executive director at the Commission. The agency operates from its Anchorage office at 510 L Street and has handled high-profile judicial conduct matters in recent years.