Alaska Court System

The Alaska Rules of Court are the rules for the administration of all courts in the state and for practice and procedure in civil and criminal cases established by the supreme court under the authority of the Alaska Constitution. The supreme court has also adopted rules for the practice of law in Alaska and procedural rules for children's matters, probate, and appeals.

The current Rules are available above, and the print version is available at all Alaska Court System law libraries and some public libraries. The official publisher of the Alaska Rules of Court is Tower Publishing. Their toll-free number is 1-800-969-8693.

Most Alaska rules are enacted and amended by supreme court order (SCO), which the court issues on a periodic basis. Print versions of all SCOs are available at the Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks law libraries. The Alaska Legislature may also change the court's procedural rules by passing an act expressing its intent to do so by a two-thirds majority of both houses. The Alaska Legislature website provides information about pending legislation.

Complete unannotated Alaska Rules of Court

Including any currently effective, recent rule changes adopted after the print edition's publication deadline.

All Court Rules are provided as PDFs with bookmarks. Please see these instructions to copy content from the PDFs.

Note: The District Court Rules of Criminal Procedure were rescinded or renumbered in 2013.

See also Recent Rule Changes and Supreme Court Orders (SCOs)

Attention: These instructions are NOT for persons who have been summoned for trial or grand jury service.

Pattern jury instructions are used by the trial judge to instruct members of the jury on the law applicable in the case before them. Lawyers may also use pattern jury instructions as they prepare for trial to ensure they address all the elements of their case.

The Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions and Alaska Criminal Pattern Jury Instructions are available online on the Court's website. The Alaska Civil Pattern Jury Instructions are also available in print at the Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau Alaska State Court Law Libraries. These instructions have not been approved or promulgated by any court or the Alaska Bar Association.

Rule changes since the Fall publication of the main edition of the Alaska Rules of Court.

Administration

• Rule 19(a) - amended by SCO 1945, effective July 1, 2019
• Rule 23(d) - amended by SCO 1952, effective July 24, 2019
• Rule 40 - amended by SCO 1948, effective October 15, 2019
• Rule 40 - note added by SCO 1937, effective November 1, 2018
• Rule 40(a) - amended by SCO 1937, effective November 1, 2018
• Rule 43.1 - amended by SCO 1949, effective July 9, 2019
• Rule 43.13 - new rule added by SCO 1946, effective June 2, 2019
• Rule 50 - rescinded and readopted by SCO 1942, effective April 15, 2019

Adoption

• Rule 1 - note added by SCO 1939, effective nunc pro tunc September 13, 2018
• Rule 6 - note added by SCO 1939, effective nunc pro tunc September 13, 2018

Appellate Procedure

• Rule 602 - note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 602(c) - amended by SCO 1930, effective April 15, 2019
• Rule 611 - amended by SCO 1930, effective April 15, 2019

Bylaws of the Alaska Bar Association

• Rule 43.1 - amended by SCO 1940, effective April 15, 2019

Civil Procedure

• Rule 4 - note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 5 - note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 26 - note added by SCO 1950, effective nunc pro tunc July 20, 2019
• Rule 54 - note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 65 - note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 90 - note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 90.3 - note added by SCO 1939, effective nunc pro tunc September 13, 2018

Criminal Procedure

• Rule 6(r)(6) - amended by SCO 1949, effective July 9, 2019
• Rule 10(a) - amended by SCO 1951, effective nunc pro tunc July 9, 2019
• Rule 11(a) - amended by SCO 1951, effective nunc pro tunc July 9, 2019
• Rule 16(d) - amended by SCO 1775, effective October 15, 2019
• Rule 16(e)(2) - amended by SCO 1775, effective October 15, 2019
• Rule 38 - amended and note added by SCO 1939, effective January 1, 2019
• Rule 38(a)(2) - amended by SCO 1951, effective nunc pro tunc July 9, 2019
• Rule 38.2 - amended and note added by SCO 1951, effective nunc pro tunc July 9, 2019
• Rule 41 - note added by SCO 1939, effective nunc pro tunc June 15, 2018
• Rule 45(d)(1) - amended by SCO 1775, effective October 15, 2019

Evidence

• Rule 402 - note added by SCO 1950, effective nunc pro tunc July 20, 2019
• Rule 402 - note added by SCO 1939, effective December 26, 2018
• Rule 501 - note added by SCO 1950, effective nunc pro tunc July 20, 2019

Minor Offense Procedure

• Rule 9(a)(3) - temporary suspension by SCO 1947, effective nunc pro tunc January 1, 2019
• Rule 10 - amended by SCO 1938, effective January 1, 2019

REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ON PROPOSED RULE CHANGES
(Comments are due by Monday, September 16, 2019)

The Alaska Supreme Court seeks comments on the following proposed rule changes. Proposed changes to existing rules are shown in “legislative” style: new language is underlined, and deleted language is struck through. Except as otherwise indicated, new text is not underlined when a new rule is proposed or when an existing rule is rescinded and readopted.

Please direct your comments via email to hflint@akcourts.us or by mail to:

Court Rules Attorney
Alaska Court System
820 West 4th Avenue
Anchorage, AK 99501

Comments are due by Monday, September 16, 2019. Thank you for your time and consideration.

All Proposals

Proposed Changes to the District Court Civil Rules

1. District Court Civil Rule 11(a) — Allowing service by publication or posting in small claims cases

Proposed Changes to the Criminal Rules (All Proposals)

1. Criminal Rule 23(a) — Clarifying waiver of a jury trial in a misdemeanor case
2. Criminal Rule 23(c) — Findings in a nonjury trial
3. Criminal Rule 24(b)(2) — Allowing mid-deliberation juror substitution

Proposed Changes to the Appellate Rules (All Proposals)

1. Appellate Rules 206, 207, 507, and 512 — When judgment takes effect; return of jurisdiction
2. Appellate Rule 212(c) — Requiring a “preservation of error” section identifying where the asserted error was raised below
3. Appellate Rule 215(f) — The record in sentence appeals
4. Appellate Rule 513.5 — Approved typeface

Venue means place of trial.

Criminal Rule 18 explains how to use the court system's venue map (4.03 MB) to determine the place where a defendant's trial will be held.

The venue map includes a chart (also available separately) that shows the presumptive trial site for each community

In addition to the presumptive trial sites shown on the venue map and community chart, there is also a list of approved additional trial sites in Administrative Bulletin 27. As explained in Criminal Rule 18(e), a defendant may ask the court to transfer the trial to one of those sites if it is:

• within the venue district where the crime charged is alleged to have occurred, and
• is the trial site nearest to the place where the crime charged is alleged to have occurred.

Judicial district lines are also shown on the venue map.

*Please be advised that the posted venue map is current through July 1, 2015. The supreme court has since approved additional changes to the venue map but the revised map is not yet available. The revised venue map:

• Eliminates the Craig trial court and substitutes the Prince of Wales trial court at Klawock as the presumptive district and superior court trial site for Coffman Cove, Craig, Edna Bay, Hollis, Hydaburg, Kasaan, Klawock, Naukati Bay, Thorne Bay, Waterfall, and Whale Pass. SCO 1870(3), effective May 15, 2016; and
• Renames the Barrow trial court as Utqiagvik, SCO 1916(3), effective January 1, 2018.

Note: The separately posted community chart is up-to-date.