Senate Confirms Aaron Peterson As Alaska’s Newest Federal Judge
The United States Senate has filled a long-standing judicial vacancy in Alaska, voting 58–39 to confirm Aaron Peterson to the federal bench. The confirmation reduces the strain on a district court that has been operating with severe staffing shortages for years.
Peterson currently serves as Alaska’s natural resources attorney. Shortly after the Senate vote, he issued a legal notice stating that he would be departing the Alaska Department of Law immediately to assume his new judicial responsibilities.
Alaska’s federal court has faced mounting challenges. Of its three authorized judgeships, only one has been actively serving following the July 2024 resignation of Judge Joshua Kindred amid a misconduct scandal. The seat Peterson will now occupy had been vacant since Judge Tim Burgess retired at the end of 2021, making it one of the oldest open federal judicial seats in the country.
With only one full-time judge available for much of that period, Alaska’s district court relied heavily on visiting judges from other states and senior-status judges to manage its caseload — an unsustainable arrangement for a state with complex criminal, civil, and natural resource litigation.
Peterson’s confirmation drew notable bipartisan backing. While 39 Democrats voted against him and three senators did not vote, six Democrats joined most Republicans in supporting the nomination. Among those voting “yes” was Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Legal observers say the vote suggests a willingness — at least in some quarters — to evaluate judicial nominees on qualifications rather than party affiliation. Carl Tobias, the Williams Chair in Law at the University of Richmond School of Law, has closely followed the 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.
Peterson, a registered Republican, was nominated by President Donald J. Trump during his second term in office. Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan convened a review committee to assess Peterson’s credentials and forward his name to the President for nomination. That process departed from the typical advisory procedure involving the Alaska Bar Association.
“I’m confident that he will be a great federal judge for our state,” Sullivan said in a prepared written statement.
During his confirmation process, Peterson declined to weigh in on whether President Trump lost the 2020 election or whether the January 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol was lawful, explaining that such matters could potentially come before him as a federal judge. His response reflected a traditional judicial philosophy emphasizing impartiality and restraint.
According to materials submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Peterson was born in Anchorage in 1981. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 2000 to 2003 before earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2007. He later graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 2010 and was admitted to the Alaska Bar that same year.
Following law school, Peterson returned home to Alaska, clerking for Judge Michael Spaan of the Anchorage Superior Court. He then worked as a prosecutor for the Municipality of Anchorage before joining the Anchorage District Attorney’s office in 2012, where he handled serious violent felony cases, including murder and sexual assault prosecutions.
In 2015, he transitioned to the Department of Law’s Office of Special Prosecutions and later moved into the department’s natural resources section in 2019 — an area of significant importance in a resource-rich state like Alaska.
Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski did not participate in the early stages of Peterson’s application process but ultimately supported the nomination after President Trump formally put his name forward.
“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.”
With Peterson’s confirmation, Alaska’s federal judiciary takes a step toward stability after years of strain. Supporters argue that restoring a full complement of qualified judges is essential to upholding the rule of law, ensuring timely justice, and reinforcing constitutional governance in the nation’s largest state.