After more than two decades of hearing cases, one of the Yukon's territorial court judges will be ending his time on the bench.

Judge John Faulkner will retire July 21 — his 65th birthday — his office has confirmed.

Faulkner was appointed to the territorial court on Oct. 18, 1989.

In his time as a judge, he served twice as chief judge of the territorial court, terms as chair of the Yukon Judicial Council and as supervising judge for the Yukon Justice of the Peace Program.

Born in Edmonton, Faulkner received his post secondary education at the University of Alberta, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1968 and a Bachelor of Law Degree in 1972.

He was admitted to the Alberta bar in 1973, the Yukon bar in 1975 and the Saskatchewan bar nine years after that.

As a lawyer, he practised primarily criminal law, working both as prosecution and defence.

Faulkner has worked on numerous murder cases and has prosecuted cases involving allegations of complex white collar crimes.

He was discipline counsel for the Law Society of Alberta and the Alberta Dental Association and College and served as president of the Alberta Criminal Trial Lawyers Association.

He has appeared in all levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada.

At the time of his appointment to the bench, Faulkner was a senior partner in the Edmonton law firm Faulkner Rogers.

He and his wife, Johanne, were married in 1969. They have two children.

New judges and justices of the peace are appointed by the Commissioner in Executive Council based on the recommendation of the minister of Justice.

The minister receives a list of three to eight applicants from the territory's judicial council.

The council consists of eight people and has representatives from the general public, the legal profession, Yukon First Nations, the judiciary and the justices of the peace

In creating the list, the council interviews members of the legal community regarding the person's reputation and suitability and hears from judges who are familiar with the applicant.

Faulkner's appointment in 1989 came 16 months after the resignation of the former chief judge of the territorial court, Daleatta Ilnicki.