One of Alaska’s two federal judge vacancies has been filled.

The U.S. Senate voted 58-39 on Wednesday to confirm state natural resources attorney Aaron Peterson to serve as the state’s newest federal judge. In a legal notice published soon after the vote, Peterson said he would be resigning immediately from the Alaska Department of Law.

Alaska has three federal judgeships but has had only one sitting judge since Joshua Kindred resigned in July 2024 amid a misconduct scandal.

Peterson, a registered Republican, will replace Judge Tim Burgess, who retired on the last day of 2021. That vacancy was one of the oldest unfilled seats in the entire U.S. federal court system.

With only one full-time judge on staff, Alaska’s federal court has relied on judges from other states and semi-retired judges on senior status.

The margin on Peterson’s confirmation was unusually bipartisan, with six Democrats joining most of the Senate’s Republicans in favor. All 39 “no” votes were from Democrats, and three senators did not vote.

Among the Democrats voting “yes” was Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the ranking opposition member on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Durbin’s office did not respond to a question asking why he voted to confirm.

Last year, answering questions proffered by Durbin, Peterson declined to say President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and declined to opine on the legality of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, saying the issue could come before him as a judge.

Carl Tobias, Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, has been following Peterson’s confirmation process.

“It wasn’t a party line vote. And so I think that means that some of the Democrats are signaling that if a person looks like he’s going to be competent, as I think Peterson will be, then they’re going to move forward and vote for that person,” he said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, organized a committee that examined Peterson’s judicial application and forwarded it to President Donald Trump for official nomination. The committee bypassed the usual procedure, which relies on advice from the Alaska Bar Association.

“I’m confident that he will be a great federal judge for our state,” he said in a prepared written statement.

In an application reviewed by the Senate’s judiciary committee, Peterson said he applied for the job after a member of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s federal transition team encouraged him to do so.

That team was formed during the changeover between President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump.

According to the information Peterson submitted to the U.S. Senate’s judiciary committee, he was born in Anchorage in 1981 and served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2003 before attending the University of Alaska Anchorage, graduating in 2007. He attended Gonzaga University School of Law and graduated in 2010. He was admitted to the Alaska bar that year.

He returned to Alaska after graduation, serving first as a clerk to Judge Michael Spaan of the Anchorage Superior Court, then as a prosecutor with the Municipality of Anchorage.

Peterson worked in the Anchorage District Attorney’s office starting in 2012, including on violent felonies, such as murder and sexual assault. He moved to the Department of Law’s office of special prosecutions in 2015 before beginning work with the Department of Law’s natural resources section in 2019.

“Throughout his career, which includes military service, Aaron has demonstrated a commitment to the rule of law and federalism. Aaron is a lifelong Alaskan and knows and understands our great state and the unique federal laws that impact us,” Sullivan said.

Tobias watched Peterson’s confirmation hearings from Virginia.

“Watching his hearings and the discussion of him, it seems like —especially in Alaska — he does have that expertise on natural resource issues from pretty long experience, and so it seems like that’s a good match,” he said.

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, didn’t participate in Peterson’s application process but offered her support after Trump nominated Peterson and voted for his confirmation on Wednesday.

“I look forward to Mr. Peterson hitting the ground running to help an overworked court, while working to address and reform the culture of abuse and low morale that has permeated the District Court in recent years,” Murkowski said in a prepared written statement. “Mr. Peterson is a born-and-raised Alaskan with a strong record of legal practice in our state, including in natural resources and criminal and civil law, and his leadership will be invaluable to Alaska. We now turn our focus to filling the remaining vacancy as soon as possible.”

Originally published by the Alaska Beacon, an independent, nonpartisan news organization that covers Alaska state government.

JUNEAU, Alaska — House Bill 39, known as the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children’s Bill of Rights, by Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River, passed the House of Representatives in a 40-0 vote Tuesday.

The legislation addresses language acquisition, parental choice and appropriate accommodation in public schools. Parents select the most suitable method of communication for their child whether that’s American Sign Language (ASL), spoken English with support or another modality. School districts would be required to deliver educational services using the parent’s chosen method.

“Deaf children are born with the same ability to acquire language as their hearing peers,” Rep. Allard said. “They have the right and capacity to be educated, graduate from high school, obtain further education and pursue meaningful careers.”

Central to HB 39 is the recognition that communication and language acquisition must be treated as a priority to prevent the devastating effects of inadequate access in the classroom, which can result in missed information during lectures and discussions, lower academic achievement and delayed language development.

Under the proposed law, children who are deaf or hard of hearing would have the right to accommodation and full access to academic instruction, school services and extracurricular activities in their primary language. This ensures that they can fully benefit from all school programs and participate meaningfully in education and society.

Recognizing Alaska’s unique rural geography, HB 39 acknowledges that some deaf or hard of hearing students may require residential services as part of their educational program to receive appropriate support.

Key provisions of House Bill 39 include:

* The right to an individualized education program (IEP) tailored to the child’s needs.

* Parental choice in determining the most appropriate method of communication.

* Identification of the child’s primary language in the IEP.

* Consideration of the prognosis for hearing loss.

* Instruction provided in the child’s primary language.

* Provision of necessary assistive devices, services and qualified personnel.

* Appropriate and timely assessments conducted in the child’s primary language.

Twenty states have already enacted similar Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children’s Bills of Rights, setting a strong precedent for protecting the educational rights of these students.

“HB 39 ensures that no child in Alaska is left behind due to barriers in communication,” Rep. Allard said. “By centering parental choice and language access, we are affirming the fundamental rights of deaf and hard of hearing children to thrive academically and socially.”

The federal law – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – does not adequately address parental rights. HB 39 fills the gap.

Click here to watch Rep. Allard’s floor speech.

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