Alaska News covers the state court system's operations, judicial decisions, staffing changes, and facility improvements across Alaska's courts.
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Alaska Supreme Court rules: Officers Must Stop at Unclear Lawyer Requests
The Alaska Supreme Court adopted a state constitutional rule requiring police to stop questioning and clarify when a suspect makes an ambiguous request for a lawyer, affirming the reversal of Steven Ridenour's Kodiak murder conviction.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 12h ago4 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court bars Nome from taxing hospital staff housing
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled unanimously that Nome cannot tax a seven-unit apartment building Norton Sound Health Corporation uses to house doctors and nurses, finding the housing 'vitally necessary' because Nome has no feasible short-term rentals. The ruling binds any Alaska borough with a tribal health facility, which is why the Kenai Peninsula, Ketchikan Gateway and Kodiak Island boroughs and the State of Alaska filed to support Nome, and Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation, a tribal health coalition and the United States filed to support the hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago4 min readAI
Alaska prosecutors must prove a voter knew a registration form was false
The Alaska Court of Appeals held Friday that felony voter misconduct requires proof a person knew a sworn statement was wrong, reversing an Anchorage judge's refusal to dismiss the indictment of Whittier resident Tupe Smith and sending the case back for possible reindictment.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
Fourteen states weighed in on whether an Alaskan belonged on Alaska's ballot
The Alaska Supreme Court decided an election-administration appeal by summary order on June 29, 2026, and 66 days later has not published the promised opinion, leaving the reasoning and the ruling's effect undisclosed.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court upholds rule requiring rent on expired oil leases during appeals
The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld a DNR rule requiring oil and gas lessees to keep paying rent on expired leases while they appeal, making final the termination of five Badami Unit leases on the North Slope in which Daniel Donkel claimed an interest.
by Alaska News1w ago2 min readAI
Alaska court: guardian, not child's lawyer, waives therapy privilege
The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday upheld the release of a 10-year-old Hooper Bay boy's psychotherapy records to his tribe, holding that a guardian ad litem's waiver of confidentiality for a child under 12 cannot be canceled by an objection from the child's own attorney.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court upholds termination of Valdez mother's parental rights
The Alaska Supreme Court on Friday affirmed a Valdez superior court order ending a mother's parental rights, finding she neglected her three-year-old son by leaving him with a father who drank to unconsciousness and never remedied the conduct.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readAI
Supreme Court lets Trump's mail-voting order advance, but Alaska's rules are unchanged for now
The U.S.The Supreme Court lifted an injunction on Trump's mail-voting order but didn't decide its legality. Alaska's rules are unchanged; a separate order blocks the key provision.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
A Kenai man is sentenced to 60 years for sexually assaulting a child in his home
Superior Court Judge Jason Gist sentenced Darold Greg Love, 67, to 77 years with 17 suspended, or 60 years to serve with no parole eligibility, after finding aggravating factors that allowed a sentence above the 35 to 45 year presumptive range.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI
Alaska's ranked-choice fight returns to the Supreme Court, months before a repeat repeal vote
The Alaska Supreme Court hears a challenge to ranked-choice voting next week, a week after the primary and months before a repeal vote on the November ballot.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
Valdez lost its fight not to be lumped in with Mat-Su. All that's left is an $11,000 bill.
Valdez lost its fight against sharing a House district with Mat-Su, and all that remains is an $11,000 costs judgment now headed to the Alaska Supreme Court on Oct. 8.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Court says a tribe can't sue its health consortium in state court
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that the Tanana Chiefs Conference holds tribal sovereign immunity as an arm of its 42 member villages, affirming dismissal of Dot Lake Village's bylaws lawsuit and an $11,888 attorney's fee award against the tribe.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
The Alaska Supreme Court sent a 14-year Willow property fight back to Palmer, with the trail's path still undecided
The Alaska Supreme Court vacated the judgment mapping the Jigliotti Family Trust's access route around a Willow home, sending a 14-year Mat-Su property dispute back to the Palmer court.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago2 min readAI
A Fairbanks blood-draw arrest raises a question about the evidence-tampering charge
Alaska State Troopers say Alfred Lee Nelson II, 46, resisted a court-ordered blood draw at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital after a July 25 speeding stop on the Mitchell Expressway, drawing a tampering charge on top of DUI and refusal counts.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4w ago1 min readAI
A murder conviction is reversed because a suspect's question about a lawyer wasn't enough for police to stop
In an Aug. 7 opinion, the Alaska Supreme Court adopted a "stop and clarify" rule under the Alaska Constitution, requiring officers to halt questioning when a suspect makes an ambiguous reference to counsel. The ruling affirms the reversal of Steven Ridenour's murder conviction.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
When a custody case is filed in both tribal and state court, whoever filed first wins, Alaska Supreme Court rules
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that when a custody dispute is filed in both tribal and state court, the court where it was filed first is generally the preferred forum to decide it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court shields Nome hospital's staff housing from tax
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Nome cannot tax a Norton Sound Health Corporation building housing doctors and nurses, finding the staff housing vitally necessary to the hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court says legislative immunity shields ethics committee from Reinbold suit
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that legislative immunity bars lawsuits over how the Legislature's ethics committee investigates and disciplines lawmakers, ending former Sen. Lora Reinbold's bid for investigative records and a public hearing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
CourtView goes dark overnight Sunday for maintenance
Alaska's public CourtView case lookup will be unavailable overnight from 7:30 p.m. Aug. 3 to 8 a.m. Aug. 4 for system maintenance. New filings are unaffected.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Court upholds detention for teen who killed another boy, even at low risk
The Alaska Court of Appeals upheld detention for a 14-year-old who fatally stabbed another teen, ruling judges may weigh the seriousness of the crime, not just future risk.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
The Sullivan who won his case lands on the ballot with no party
Daniel J. Sullivan won a court fight to stay on Alaska's U.S. Senate primary ballot, but the Division of Elections listed him with no party affiliation despite his Republican registration.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court: divorce splits must account for who pays the taxes
Alaska Supreme Court divorce ruling: capital gains taxes on marital property sales must be fairly allocated with explained findings; 55/45 estate split upheld.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
A sleep clinic said it isn't medicine. The court disagreed.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Alaska Sleep Clinic owes state corporate income tax because diagnostic sleep testing is a service in the field of health.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min readAI
Two Dan Sullivans, and a ballot solution the state wrote itself
Division of Elections records confirm that Dan J. Sullivan of Petersburg and incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan will both appear on the August 18 primary ballot. The challenger will be listed as 'Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.' with no party affiliation, after the NRSC's letter requesting removal drew no comment from the division.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Petersburg pushed back when the state pulled Sullivan off the ballot
Letters released by the Alaska Legislature show Petersburg residents objected to the Division of Elections removing Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. from the U.S. Senate primary ballot.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska courts require TrueFiling for CINA cases starting August 17
The Alaska Court System has set August 17, 2026 as the mandatory start date for electronic filing of Child in Need of Aid cases statewide, replacing existing email and fax guidance at all trial court locations. Training dates have not yet been announced, and probate cases are planned to follow by the end of 2026.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Supreme Court to hear Alaska bush pilot's fight over $95,000 plane seized for a six-pack
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear Jouppi v. Alaska, a case in which the state sought to forfeit a Fairbanks bush pilot's $95,000 Cessna after a passenger carried a six-pack of Budweiser onto a flight bound for Beaver, a dry Interior village. The ruling could shape how courts weigh the gravity of an offense in Eighth Amendment forfeiture cases nationwide.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska ballot will show two Dan Sullivans differently — here's what voters need to know
The Alaska Division of Elections released a sample ballot listing namesake challenger Dan J. Sullivan as 'Sullivan, Daniel J. Jr.' with no party affiliation, and incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan as the incumbent, a resolution to a legal fight that ended at the Alaska Supreme Court ahead of the August 18 primary.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court: parent who stays active guardian keeps custody when disabled adult child lives in assisted care
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that a mother who visited weekly and served as legal guardian and conservator retained primary physical custody of her intellectually disabled adult daughter despite the daughter living in an assisted living facility, upholding $640 per month in support from the father.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court rules Sleep Clinic owes back taxes, not a small business
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Friday that Alaska Sleep Clinic does not qualify for the state's small business tax exemption because it performs services in the field of health, upholding the Department of Revenue's denial for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018 and setting a precedent for how Alaska taxes diagnostic health businesses.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court affirms termination of Native mother's parental rights over domestic violence
The Alaska Supreme Court affirmed Friday that completing case-plan steps does not constitute remedying the conduct that placed a child at risk, upholding termination of an Alaska Native mother's parental rights after she repeatedly allowed a violent adult son back into the home over four years.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readAI
He overturned his termination but still lost his daughter
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Jonah B. permanently lost his daughter to adoption because he did not challenge her adoption decree within the one-year statutory period, even though a prior ruling had reversed the termination of his parental rights.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
The state made a plea deal, then broke it. A court just said no.
The Alaska Court of Appeals ordered a Point Hope man resentenced after a substitute prosecutor broke his plea agreement by arguing for the maximum sentence instead of the agreed term.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
The state must bridge the language gap before ending parental rights, court says
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled child-welfare workers must accommodate non-English-speaking parents before terminating parental rights, a protection rooted in the state's 20-plus Native languages.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska Supreme Court puts Petersburg's Dan Sullivan back on August ballot
The Alaska Supreme Court reversed Lt. Governor Nancy Dahlstrom's disqualification of Daniel James Sullivan Jr. of Petersburg, ordering him onto the August primary ballot alongside incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan and leaving the Division of Elections to find a way to distinguish the two names for voters.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska's high court reversed a decision to end a Native mother's parental rights — over how the state made its case
The Alaska Supreme Court reversed the termination of a Native mother's parental rights, finding the state's cultural expert testimony failed to meet the Indian Child Welfare Act's standard.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Alaska appeals court identifies DUI jury instruction tension in Homer case
The Alaska Court of Appeals affirmed a Homer man's DUI conviction Thursday but directed the Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions Committee to fix a conflict in standard instructions that could deny defendants their statutory right to raise a post-driving drinking defense statewide.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
If you're facing a custody or divorce case in Alaska, these rules apply from day one
A statewide Alaska court standing order automatically bars parents in contested divorce and custody cases from removing children from the state, selling marital property, or canceling insurance.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
A judge says Alaska can't keep the second Dan Sullivan off the Senate ballot
An Anchorage judge ordered the Division of Elections to place Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. on the Aug. 18 Republican Senate primary ballot, alongside incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A judge weighs whether Alaska gets two Dan Sullivans
An Anchorage judge will rule Friday on whether a second "Dan Sullivan" can join Sen. Dan Sullivan on Alaska's primary ballot, as a ballot-printing deadline looms.
by Cale Green2mo ago3 min read