The federal government is considering closing three courthouses in Alaska. According to documents obtained by the Associated Press, courthouses in Juneau, Ketchikan and Fairbanks could be shut down as part of an effort to cut costs. If all three did close, the only active federal courthouse in Alaska would be in Anchorage. Senator Lisa Murkowski responded to the news in a statement, saying, “it’s penny-wise, pound-foolish to remove three out of our four active courthouses and ask all Alaskans to travel to Anchorage for legal proceedings.”
Up to 60 court sites in 29 states could be closed. The government ranked the court sites that could be shut down based on categories such as usage and location. A similar list of potential court closures is generated every two years.
Annie Feidt is the broadcast managing editor at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at afeidt@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Annie here.
