News & Commentary

The ACLU and ACLU of Alaska filed an amicus brief in Alaska v. Smith, a case that highlights the serious consequences of the confusing nature of voting rights in Alaska for U.S. nationals from American Samoa.

Late last month, the Alaska Legislature gaveled out in Juneau, marking the end of the 2025 session.

Since the House Judiciary Committee's two-hour hearing about deaths in custody at the end of March, and the deaths the Department of Corrections (DOC) neglected to count, two more Alaskans have died.

Every year during and after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the ACLU of Alaska receives reports from Muslim inmates that Alaska's Department of Corrections (DOC) fails to properly accommodate their Ramadan observance.

The ACLU of Alaska has compiled resources from our organization and others across the state and country who are working to push back on executive orders targeting queer and trans people. 

Nearly two years ago, the ACLU of Alaska filed a lawsuit to protect the due process rights of incarcerated people who are subject to the Alaska Department of Corrections (DOC) egregious and unlawful involuntary medication policy.   

Francesca Ciampa is the Policy Fellow through the Alaska Fellows Program. She joined the policy team for the first trip to Juneau this legislative session. Check out her takeaways here.

Every year when the Alaska Legislature begins a new session, we diligently track bills that implicate Alaskans’ rights. This year, we begin that work as the second Trump administration assumes office.

I joined the Alaska Public Defender Agency in 2021. On my first day, I was given 273 cases. For a few months in 2022, I had about 400 cases at once.