Juneau federal clerk's office closes twice in June amid staffing shortage

The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska closed its Juneau Clerk's Office on June 12 and will close it again June 15, suspending in-person counter service on both dates. "The Juneau Clerks Office will be closed June 12, 2026, and June 15, 2026, due to staffing shortages," the court posted on its official website. On those days, filings and inquiries can be redirected by mail or phone to the court's Anchorage or Fairbanks locations, which remain open. The District of Alaska lists four court locations statewide: Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

The notice covers only those two discrete dates and does not indicate a permanent service reduction. The closures are not isolated. The Juneau office was also closed May 22 through 26, 2026, and for a single day in April. The court has not indicated when the Juneau office will return to full staffing.

The June closures come amid broader staffing pressures across Alaska's court systems. The Alaska Judicial Council posted vacancies for the Juneau District Court and Kotzebue Superior Court as of June 1, 2026. The Alaska Court System's statewide closure list also shows temporary closures or limited operations at rural locations including Cordova, Glennallen, and Nenana, with phone and remote workarounds in place. Federal judiciary staffing shortages have drawn national attention as well. According to a budget request to Congress publicly posted in early 2026, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts stated that its administrative arm offered buyouts to all of its staff, resulting in "critical staffing shortfalls" after 92 employees accepted "voluntary incentive separation packages" as of January 2026. The court's notice does not establish whether the Juneau closures are connected to that broader pattern or reflect a more localized staffing gap.