(a) Assignment of Cases
Upon the return of an indictment or the filing of an information, all criminal cases when
filed will be numbered consecutively by the Clerk of Court and immediately assigned as
follows:
(1) Felony and Class A Misdemeanor Cases
[A] felony cases will be assigned by the Clerk of Court to a district judge in a
manner that distributes a substantially equal number of cases to each district judge;
and
[B] unless otherwise ordered by a district judge, referred to a magistrate judge in a
manner that distributes a substantially equal number of cases to each magistrate
judge for conducting:
[i] an arraignment;
[ii] such pretrial conferences as are necessary; and
Local Criminal Rules for the District of Alaska
Updated October 15, 2025
Page 19
[iii] hearing and administration of all pretrial, procedural, and discovery motions.
(2) Misdemeanor Cases. Class B and Class C misdemeanor cases will be assigned to
a magistrate judge in a manner that distributes a substantially equal number of cases
to each magistrate judge.
(3) Misdemeanor Appeals. The appeal of a misdemeanor case will be assigned by the
Clerk of Court to a district judge in the same manner as felony cases are assigned
under paragraph (a)(1).
(4) Retention by District Judge
[A] Nothing in these rules precludes the district judge from retaining any criminal
matter or motion for disposition.
[B] The court may modify the method of assigning and referring cases to magistrate
judges as changing conditions may warrant.
(b) Calendars
In accordance with the Speedy Trial Act and the Speedy Trial Plan for this district, priority
will be given to the calendaring of criminal matters for hearing or trial.
