Editing Alaska (section)

===State government===
{{Main|Government of Alaska}}
[[File:Juneau, Alaska Downtown.jpg|thumb|The center of state government in [[Juneau, Alaska|Juneau]]. The large buildings in the background are, from left to right: the Court Plaza Building (known colloquially as the "[[Spam (food)|Spam Can]]"), the State Office Building (behind), the Alaska Office Building, the [[List of justices of the Alaska Supreme Court|John H. Dimond]] State Courthouse, and the [[Alaska State Capitol]]. Many of the smaller buildings in the foreground are also occupied by state government agencies.]]

Like all other U.S. states, Alaska is governed as a republic, with three [[separation of powers|branches of government]]: an [[executive branch]] consisting of the [[governor of Alaska]] and their appointees which head executive departments; a [[legislative branch]] consisting of the [[Alaska House of Representatives]] and [[Alaska Senate]]; and a [[judicial branch]] consisting of the [[Alaska Supreme Court]] and lower courts.

The state of Alaska employs approximately 16,000 people statewide.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/fileadmin/DOP_Home/pdf/dopannualreport.pdf |title=State of Alaska Workforce Profile Fiscal Year 2013 |publisher=Dop.state.ak.us |access-date=May 25, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140330005824/http://doa.alaska.gov/dop/fileadmin/DOP_Home/pdf/dopannualreport.pdf |archive-date=March 30, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[Alaska State Legislature]] consists of a 40-member [[Alaska House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] and a 20-member [[Alaska Senate|Senate]]. Senators serve four-year terms and House members two. The [[governor of Alaska]] serves four-year terms. The [[List of Lieutenant Governors of Alaska|lieutenant governor]] runs separately from the governor in the [[Two-round system|primaries]], but during the general election, the nominee for governor and nominee for lieutenant governor run together on the same ticket.

Alaska's court system has four levels: the [[Alaska Supreme Court]], the [[Alaska Court of Appeals]], the superior courts and the district courts.<ref name="cts">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ctinfo.htm |title=About the Alaska Court System |publisher=State.ak.us |access-date=June 2, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913093708/http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ctinfo.htm |archive-date=September 13, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The superior and district courts are [[trial court]]s. Superior courts are courts of general jurisdiction, while district courts hear only certain types of cases, including misdemeanor criminal cases and civil cases valued up to $100,000.<ref name="cts" />

The Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals are [[appellate court]]s. The Court of Appeals is required to hear appeals from certain lower-court decisions, including those regarding criminal prosecutions, juvenile delinquency, and [[habeas corpus]].<ref name="cts" /> The Supreme Court hears civil appeals and may in its discretion hear criminal appeals.<ref name="cts" />