David Voluck | |
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| Born | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | University of Pennsylvania Lewis & Clark Law School |
| Occupation(s) | Judge and author |
David Avraham Voluck is an American judge, attorney, and author known for his specialization infederal Indian law and his long-standing service as a tribal court judge inAlaska.[1] He is recognized for his work in developing tribal justice systems, particularly within theTlingit andHaida communities, and for co-authoring the definitive legal treatiseAlaska Natives and American Laws.[1][2] He has credited the Native tribes with helping him become a more observant Jew.[3]
Voluck was born and raised inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania.[3] He attended theUniversity of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor's degree with a focus on the sociology of religion.[3][2]He later moved to thePacific Northwest to attend theLewis & Clark Law School, receiving hisJuris Doctor in 1995 with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law.[1][2] During his time there, he was inducted into the Cornelius Honor Society.[2]
Following law school graduation, Voluck moved toSitka, Alaska, in 1996 to begin his career working for theSitka Tribe of Alaska.[1] He first served as the land and trust resources attorney before being promoted to the director of the Tribe's Law and Trust Resources Department.[1] In 1998, he joined the firm of Landye, Bennette, and Blumstein, LLP in Anchorage, specializing in Federal Indian law and traveling to rural villages to represent both municipal and tribal governments.[1]
Voluck's judicial career began in 2008 when he was appointed chief judge of the Sitka Tribal Court (Sitka Tribe of Alaska),[4] where he primarily serves members of the Tlingit and Haida nations.[5] His approach to justice focuses heavily on non-adversarial, restorative, and traditional legal practices.[5] He is known for presiding over a Tribal Healing to Wellness Court, a long-term therapeutic program for individuals dealing with substance abuse problems, emphasizing rehabilitation, community solutions, sanctions, and incentives rather than punitive sentencing.[6] Voluck is notable as the state's only non-Native tribal judge.[7][6]His subsequent judicial appointments include:
Voluck is also a faculty member for theNational Judicial College's National Tribal Judicial Center and the National Tribal Trial College, where he lectures on tribal law, tribal courts, and native culture.[6]
Voluck is the co-author, alongside David S. Case, of the legal treatiseAlaska Natives and American Laws.[2] The book, which discusses the history and unique legal relationship of Alaskan Natives with the federal government, is considered a significant work in the field and has been revised through multiple editions (including the second and third editions).[8]In 2014, Voluck was honored with theAlaska Bar Association's JudgeNora Guinn Award.[4][9] The award recognized his "extraordinary and sustained efforts to assist Alaska's rural residents, especially its Native population, in overcoming language and cultural barriers to obtaining justice." He was the first tribal judge to receive this award.[4]
Voluck is anOrthodox Jew, affiliated with theChabad-Lubavitch movement.[5][4] His work with Alaskan Natives is cited as having deepened his interest in his own religious heritage, leading him to take a two-year sabbatical from legal practice to studyTalmudic andJewish legal studies at the Rabbinical College of America inMorristown, New Jersey.[1][5]The Tlingit people of Sitka bestowed upon him a tribal name,Aan S'aati, which translates to "Caretaker for the Land".[5] Voluck has noted similarities between traditional Alaskan Native spiritual values and Judaism, particularly concerning the reverence for the Creator as a unifying force present in all creation and the importance of ecological stewardship.[5] The tribal court even has an "aboriginalSeder plate", taking elements from both cultures to make the room more comfortable.[7]
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