In mid-February, students in UAA legal studies professor Dr. Ryan Fortson's Trial and Advanced Litigation course (LEGL A487) had the opportunity to practice arguing a motion in front of a U.S. District Court judge in his courtroom in the James M. Fitzgerald U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building in downtown Anchorage.
Statistics kept by the Alaska Justice Information Center was featured in an Anchorage Daily News article about how the Alaska Court System faces significant trial backlog as courtrooms reopen.
In the summer of 2021, the Oxygen channel visited Alaska to film a true crime series on homicide and violence against women in Alaska. The film crew interviewed Dr. Ingrid Johnson, Justice Center assistant professor, to give background information on crime and other relevant cultural dynamics.
Providence Alaska announced that Anchorage Chief of Police Kenneth McCoy has been named as its first region chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. McCoy is an alumnus of the UAA College of Health Justice Center.
When COVID-19 hit the Gulf States region in March 2020, state officials were swift to react in order to prevent the spread of the virus. One of those actions taken was to shut down in-person prison visitation, limiting the number of people who come in contact with the incarcerated population. For over a year, more than 70,000 people incarcerated in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi were not able to visit with their loved ones, impacting both the prisoners and their family members.
