Juneau's federal court office keeps closing, with no end in sight

Alaska's capital has a federal court counter. Staffing it is apparently optional — closed again this month, with no word on when it reopens.

Alaska's capital has a federal courthouse. Lately, keeping its public counter open has been the hard part.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska shut its Juneau Clerk's Office to in-person service on June 12 and again on June 15, citing staffing shortages. "The Juneau Clerks Office will be closed June 12, 2026, and June 15, 2026, due to staffing shortages," the court posted on its website. Filers and anyone with a question were pointed to the court's Anchorage or Fairbanks offices instead, by mail or phone.

In a state where Juneau reaches the rest of Alaska only by air or water, that "instead" carries weight. For much of Southeast Alaska, a trip to the federal counter in Anchorage or Fairbanks isn't a drive — it's a flight, or a phone call.

And the two June dates aren't really the story; the pattern behind them is. The Juneau office also went dark across May 22 to 26, and for a single day in April. A day in spring, then a longer stretch, now two more in June — and the court has given no date for when Juneau returns to full staffing.

What's behind it isn't spelled out in the notice. But the federal judiciary has been shedding people nationally: in a budget request to Congress posted earlier this year, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts reported "critical staffing shortfalls" after 92 employees accepted voluntary separation buyouts as of January 2026. Whether Juneau's repeated closures trace to that national squeeze or to a more local gap, the court hasn't said.

The practical reality is simpler than the cause. The federal court counter in Alaska's capital is open less and less — and no one has said when that changes.