Two Anchorage area judges have been nominated by the Alaska Judicial Council to fill a vacancy on the state Supreme Court.

The names of Superior Court Judges Morgan Christen and Eric Smith were forwarded to Gov. Sarah Palin, who by law has 45 days to appoint one of them to Alaska's highest court.

The opening was created by the forthcoming retirement of Justice Warren Matthews, who was appointed to the court 32 years ago by Gov. Jay Hammond.

The council selected the two finalists from a list of six candidates after a lengthy review process that included a survey of more than 3,000 members of the Alaska Bar Association, which rated the candidates for professional competence, integrity and fairness.

While the council is not obligated to follow the rating by attorneys, Christen and Smith received the highest scores.

Christen, 47, is currently the presiding judge for the Third Judicial District, an area that encompasses all of Southcentral Alaska -- including Anchorage, Kenai, Mat-Su, Cordova, Valdez and Kodiak -- as well as Bristol Bay and the Aleutian Islands. As such she oversees the work of 23 other Superior Court judges.

Smith, 55, is one of four Superior Court judges in Palmer. He was appointed to the court by Gov. Tony Knowles in 1996. Christen was appointed to the bench by Knowles in 2001.

Other applicants for the opening were Anchorage attorneys Frank Pfiffner, Ken Jacobus and Kenneth Kirk, and Anchorage administrative law judge David Lawrence.