Courts
RSSAlaska court system, rulings, filings, federal cases affecting Alaska, Alaska Court of Appeals, Alaska Supreme Court decisions, judicial retention
Alaska courts now send free text reminders before hearings to anyone with a case number
Forgetting court just got harder. Text a case number to the Alaska Court System and it'll remind you at 4 pm the day before your hearing, for free.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1d ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court: spouse's word alone cannot shield inheritance in divorce
Put an inheritance into the family home? In an Alaska divorce, your word alone won't get it back out, the Supreme Court says. Paperwork, it turns out, matters.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago3 min read
Judicial Council tries again to fill Kotzebue and Nome superior court seats
Kotzebue and Nome are each without their only superior court judge. The Judicial Council is trying again to fill both, Kotzebue's for the third time.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min read
Alaska must appoint lawyers for people jailed on other states' warrants, appeals court rules
People jailed in Alaska on another state's warrant have a right to a free lawyer, an appeals court ruled. The case began with requests filed on the wrong form.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3d ago3 min read
Alaska asks court to approve its share of $2.3 million Labcorp data breach settlement
Labcorp will pay 44 attorneys general $2.3 million over its debt collector's 2019 data breach. Alaska's lawyers asked a judge to sign off on the state's cut.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read
A medical board appeal stalls over a $750 bond
Someone is appealing an Alaska medical board decision without a lawyer, the first such appeal since 2023. It stalls until a $750 bond is paid.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court takes up Sitka assault where a woman owes $104,000 to the doctor who pleaded guilty to assaulting her
A Sitka woman's doctor pleaded guilty to assaulting her. A civil jury never heard that, found against her, and she now owes him and the city $104,307.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago3 min read
A federal grant funds Tlingit & Haida's plan to hear child protection cases
The Tlingit & Haida Tribal Court is preparing to open its own child protection cases, using authority Alaska courts recognized more than a decade ago.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5d ago3 min read
The Supreme Court will rule on Dunleavy's agriculture department after he's gone
The Supreme Court will decide after the election whether Dunleavy could create an agriculture department by order. He'll be gone by the time it matters.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read
Spann sues state, governor and PFD director in Anchorage court
The creator of a 37,858-signature PFD petition has sued the state, representing himself. What the lawsuit is actually about is not yet known.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read
Fairbanks judge sentences Julian Miranda to 30 years in 2012 sexual assaults
A Fairbanks man got 30 years for two 2012 sexual assaults. The DNA kits that linked him to both women sat untested for years before they were run.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min read
Anchorage judge sentences Adam Pringle to 55 years for 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener
The second man convicted in the 2022 killing of Keenan Wegener got 55 years, a few more than his co-defendant. It took four years to reach sentencing.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min read
Alaska's new judicial ethics code changes reporting of incapacity and misconduct
Alaska's revised judicial ethics code takes effect Oct. 15 and clarifies when assistance-program confidentiality yields to reporting duties.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
An appeals court reopens a McLaughlin Youth Center abuse conviction
An appeals court withdrew its decision upholding a former McLaughlin Youth Center officer's abuse conviction, sending it back over withheld records.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min read
Alaskans with Credit Acceptance car loans may get debt cancelled under a $709.5 million settlement
Some Alaskans with subprime car loans are about to have the balance erased. The state cannot say how many, because other states run the payout.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
A jury convicted a former employee in a Trapper Creek killing
A Palmer jury convicted a former restaurant employee of first-degree murder in the 2023 killing of a 21-year-old server at a Trapper Creek lodge.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago2 min read
Appeals court orders dismissal of family's suit over Anchorage police shooting of Kristopher Handy
A federal appeals court ordered dismissal of the Handy family's lawsuit, ruling the four Anchorage police officers who killed Kristopher Handy in May 2024 are protected by qualified immunity.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min read
The court found an obvious error in his commitment and upheld it anyway
Alaska's Supreme Court found an obvious error in a homeless man's commitment and upheld it anyway. The ruling came two and a half years after he was released.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
State to drop Whittier voter misconduct cases after appeals ruling
The form had no box for what Tupe Smith is. Whittier officials told her to check citizen. The state charged her with felonies and is now dropping them.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago3 min read
Bethel judge sentences Wassillie Brink to 30 years in Kasigluk assault
A man with a prior conviction for sexual abuse of a minor got 22 years to serve for a 2022 assault in Kasigluk. Western Alaska's rate is double the state's.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago1 min read
Alaska has reviewed 22 police shootings since 2024 and charged no one
Alaska prosecutors have reviewed at least 22 police shootings since 2024 and charged no officer. The record clears the officer every time.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago3 min read
Ninth Circuit says tribal law cannot shield employees from federal civil rights suits
A federal appeals court ruled tribal governments cannot shield their own employees from civil rights lawsuits by writing immunity into tribal code.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read
Alaska justices affirm commitment despite skipped consent inquiry
Alaska Supreme Court upheld forced commitment and medication for an Anchorage man despite the lower court skipping a required check for voluntary treatment.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
The Legislature will spend $50,000 defending the seizure of a pilot's plane
A six-pack of Budweiser cost an Alaska bush pilot his $95,000 plane. The Legislature has now voted $50,000 to defend that at the Supreme Court.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court hears appeal over Kotzebue officer's immunity in 2022 shooting
Supreme Court heards Kotzebue case
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
A parent does not lose custody by placing a disabled child in a facility, Alaska court rules
Alaska Supreme Court ruled a parent cannot escape child support by placing a disabled adult child in assisted care if the parent maintains a custodial role, affirming $640 monthly support in the case.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court says a sleep clinic performs services in the field of health and owes the tax
Alaska Supreme Court ruled Alaska Sleep Clinic cannot claim the state's small business tax exemption because health services are excluded from it, regardless of company size.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Alaska Supreme Court says a judge may remove a plaintiff from his own trial, after warnings
Alaska's Supreme Court ruled for the first time that a judge can remove a disruptive party from a civil trial, even the one who filed the suit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
State clears three Anchorage officers in the fatal shooting of Emil McCord
State prosecutors cleared three Anchorage officers of criminal liability in the fatal shooting of Emil McCord, 112 days after it happened.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
A conservative group sues Alaska's judicial council for diversity records
A national conservative group founded by Stephen Miller is suing the Alaska Judicial Council for records on how it weighs diversity in picking judges.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court rules: Officers Must Stop at Unclear Lawyer Requests
Alaska Supreme Court ruled police must stop questioning suspects who make unclear lawyer requests, even after Miranda waivers, reversing a Kodiak murder conviction.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago4 min read
Alaska Supreme Court bars Nome from taxing hospital staff housing
The Alaska Supreme Court says Nome cannot tax the building where its hospital houses doctors and nurses, a ruling that reaches every borough in the state.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago4 min read
Alaska prosecutors must prove a voter knew a registration form was false
Alaska's appeals court held that a first-degree voter-misconduct charge based on a false oath requires proof the voter understood the act was wrong.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
Suit seeks Alaska Judicial Council records on judge screening
A conservative legal group sued the Alaska Judicial Council for the scoring sheets it has used to rank judicial candidates since 2020.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago3 min read
Fourteen states weighed in on whether an Alaskan belonged on Alaska's ballot
Fourteen states, the Alaska GOP and a national election law group filed briefs against a Petersburg man's candidacy. Two Alaskans filed for him, on their own.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago2 min read
An Anchorage man will serve 20 years for abusing a 4-year-old relative
Judge Peterson sentenced Jose Dominguez Ballesteros to 20 years in prison Monday for sexually abusing a family member starting at age 4, with lifetime sex offender registration required.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Tom Begich withdraws his campaign and endorses Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
Tom announced he's withdrawing from the race for Governor and endorses JKT.
by Cale Green1mo ago3 min read
Alaska Supreme Court upholds rule requiring rent on expired oil leases during appeals
The Alaska Supreme Court upheld a rule requiring oil companies to keep paying rent on expired leases while appealing, ending five North Slope leases.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Alaska court: guardian, not child's lawyer, waives therapy privilege
Alaska Supreme Court ruled a child's guardian can waive therapy confidentiality in state custody cases, letting a tribe access a 10-year-old's psychiatric records over his lawyer's objection.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska Supreme Court upholds termination of Valdez mother's parental rights
Alaska Supreme Court upheld termination of a Valdez mother's parental rights after she failed to complete reunification steps and missed most visits over two and a half years.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read