Robert Cecil "Bob" Erwin (December 29, 1934 – January 24, 2020)[1] was an American lawyer who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Alaska from August 3, 1970, to April 15, 1977.[2][3]
Born in Seward, Alaska, Erwin was the younger brother of William Matthews Erwin, who would later be elected to represent the eastern Kenai Peninsula in the 1st and 2nd state legislatures. Erwin was a state prosecutor for the Nome area in the 1960s.[4] He took the Alaska state bar examination in July 1960, in order to be able to practice in the state courts.[5] As a prosecutor, he handled cases as mundane as failure to pay state school taxes,[6] and as exotic as unlicensed polar bear hunting.[7]
Erwin was appointed to the court by Governor Keith Harvey Miller, and was only the second democrat to be appointed.[8] Erwin was the only Alaskan-born justice until the 2007 appointment of Daniel Winfree. After seven years on the court, Erwin resigned, stating, "this is a crazy job and you sure can't help people from here".[9] He returned to private practice in Anchorage, noting that as a private attorney he would be "able to take public stands" on political issues.[9]
From 2002 to 2003, Erwin served as the only Catholic member of a panel convened to investigate and report on sexual abuse of minors by the Catholic Church in Alaska.[10]
References
edit- ^ "Obituary for Robert C. Erwin". Anchorage Daily News. February 6, 2020.
- ^ "Erwin takes seat on Supreme Court". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. August 4, 1970.
- ^ "Erwin resigns from state Supreme Court". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. January 24, 1977.
- ^ "City News In-Brief: Erwin Here", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (May 6, 1960), p. 1.
- ^ "City News In-Brief: Bar Exams", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (July 12, 1960), p. 1.
- ^ "Three Found Guilty of Failure to Pay School Tax", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (February 16, 1961), p. 12.
- ^ "Judge Suggests Indictment Against Officials Be Dropped", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (August 21, 1961), p. 1.
- ^ "Erwin takes seat on Supreme Court", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (August 4, 1970), p. 3.
- ^ a b "Erwin returning to law firm", Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (January 25, 1977), p. 2.
- ^ "Abuse by priests dates back to 1966", Whitehorse Daily Star (October 31, 2003), p. 16.
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