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Michael "Mike" Jeffery

Judge Michael Jeffery

Born in 1944, Michael Jeffery grew up in Los Angeles, California, and received a law degree from Yale University in 1969. He came to Alaska in 1977 as the first Alaska Legal Services attorney in Barrow. In 1982, he was appointed the first judge of the new state Superior Court in Barrow. As of 2012, he continues to work in that position. In addition to the interview with Michael Jeffery in the Judges of Alaska Project Jukebox by Karen Brewster, he also was interviewed on January 2 and 3, 2009 by his daughter for the StoryCorps project where he talks about his youth, his five years spent in India, and his life prior to becoming a judge. This interview (ORAL HISTORY 2010-15-31) is available at the Oral History Collection, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks, (907) 474-6773. To hear an excerpt of the StoryCorps interview that aired on Alaska Public Radio on December 24, 2009.
Date of Birth:
Dec 29, 1944
Michael "Mike" Jeffery appears in the following new Jukebox projects:
Judge Michael Jeffery's Slideshow
Interview Title Abstract Archive #: Oral History Project Date of Interview
Judge Michael Jeffery, Part 1

Judge Michael Jeffery was interviewed on February 6, 2012 by Karen Brewster at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Michael Jeffery grew up in Los Angeles, CA, and received a law degree from Yale University in 1969. He came to Alaska in 1977 as the first Alaska Legal Services attorney in Barrow. In 1982, he was appointed the first judge of the new state Superior Court in Barrow. He continues to work in that position. In this interview, he talks about becoming a lawyer, coming to Alaska, establishing the Alaska Legal Services office in Barrow, being appointed as a judge, working as a judge in a small town, being involved in the community, and the complexities of rural justice in Alaska and dealing with the issues of fetal alcohol effect spectrum amongst the court’s clientele.

 2012-02-06_PT.1 Judges of Alaska Feb 6, 2012
Judge Michael Jeffery, Part 2

This is a continuation of the interview with Judge Michael Jeffery on February 6, 2012 by Karen Brewster at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This is a continuation of tape number Oral History 2012-02-06, Part 1, and it continues on tape number Oral History 2012-02-06, Part 3. In this part of the interview, Judge Jeffery talks about rural justice, substance abuse and alcohol issues in the courts, cultural understanding, starting the superior court in Barrow, his views about sentencing lawas, and what is means to him personally to be a judge.

 2012-02-06_PT.2 Judges of Alaska Feb 6, 2012
Judge Michael Jeffery, Part 3

This is a continuation of the interview with Judge Michael Jeffery on February 6, 2012 by Karen Brewster at Elmer E. Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. This is a continuation of tape number Oral History 2012-02-06, Part 1 and Part 2. In this part of the intervew, Judge Jeffery talks about rural justice and tribal courts, role of magistrates, Alaska's system for retention of judges, and how to maintain balance in your life when you are a judge.

 2012-02-06_PT.3 Judges of Alaska Feb 6, 2012