Aaron Christian Peterson
How Judge Peterson rules, drawn from 18 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Peterson
Aaron Christian Peterson is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump, Judge Peterson received a commission on February 10, 2026.
Judge Peterson's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Peterson's own (checked October 9, 2026), so the court's local rules and general orders are the place to look (court page ↗).
Standing orders for every case in this court
Orders the court applies to all of its cases, whichever judge has them, as published on the court's website (checked October 9, 2026).
- Procedure for Access and Management of Sealed, Restricted and Ex Parte Documents (Second Amended) ↗
- Procedures for the Filing, Service, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents ↗
- Appointment of Counsel and Procedures for Compassionate Release Motions ↗
- Electronic Communication Devices in the Courtroom ↗
How Judge Peterson decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Kenai Red Fish Company, LLC v. Fletcher Bay, LLC, he denied a temporary restraining order because the plaintiff had not proved irreparable harm at that stage.
“the request for a TRO is DENIED ... the Plaintiff has not proved irreparable harm at this stage.”
In a trademark preliminary-injunction dispute, delay in seeking relief and limited evidence of confusion weighed against immediate relief.
“Erickson also waited more than two years after learning of AlaSkin Dermatology before filing suit and another six months before requesting an injunction.”
Cautions
In Gunter v. Contango Ore, Inc., he dismissed the complaint without prejudice after finding that its claims did not establish federal subject-matter jurisdiction.
“the motion to dismiss filed by Defendant Contango Ore, Inc. is GRANTED because the Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the complaint. ... The complaint is thus DISMISSED without prejudice for lack of federal jurisdiction.”
On a post-verdict judgment-of-acquittal motion, he views the evidence in the prosecution's favor and leaves witness credibility and evidentiary conflicts to the jury.
“It is not the district court’s function to determine witness credibility when ruling on a Rule 29 motion.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“Each above captioned action is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to prosecute.”
“This action is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
“All pending motions are DENIED as moot.”
“the motion to dismiss filed by Defendant Contango Ore, Inc. is GRANTED because the Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction over the complaint. ... The complaint is thus DISMISSED without prejudice for lack of federal jurisdiction.”
“The remaining motions to dismiss at Dockets 11 and 20 are DENIED as moot.”
“Plaintiff's motion for a court-appointed attorney at Docket 3 is DENIED.”
“his requests at Dockets 16 and 17 are DENIED.”
“Plaintiff's application to proceed without prepaying the Court's filing fee is GRANTED.”
“The motion for summary judgment is therefore GRANTED. ... Officer Mooney's motion for summary judgment at Docket 22 is GRANTED.”
“the request for a TRO is DENIED ... the Plaintiff has not proved irreparable harm at this stage.”
“the Defendant's motion for summary judgment is GRANTED. ... For the above stated reasons, summary judgment is GRANTED in favor of Defendant.”
“Plaintiff's Motion for Remand at Docket 10 is DENIED. ... However, given Plaintiff's self-represented status and the strong presumption against removal jurisdiction, this denial is without prejudice.”
“the Court finds that Hampton has not met the standard for awarding sanctions. The Motion is therefore DENIED.”
The court dismissed a prisoner's civil-rights complaint at screening because appointed defense attorneys were not state actors, the pleading could not be used to challenge the criminal case, and the asserted conspiracy was conclusory. Amendment was deemed futile, the dismissal counted as a statutory strike, and unidentified pending motions were denied as moot.
“The Report and Recommendation at Docket 115 are ADOPTED in full.”
“As such, Seabrease’s motion for a judgment of acquittal is DENIED.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
- A sample of Judge Peterson's docket drawn from the public federal docket record.
- Because he joined the court in February 2026 to fill a seat that had been vacant for more than four years, his caseload combines a small number of cases filed since his appointment with older cases, some dating back to 2019, that were reassigned to him from other judges once he took the bench.
- His docket to date includes federal and state habeas petitions, employment-discrimination and other civil-rights claims, prisoner suits, a civil forfeiture action, personal-injury and insurance removals, an immigration naturalization petition, and a federal criminal calendar, including two inherited prosecutions he carried through to sentencing shortly after they were reassigned to him.
Pending matters in the official report
Reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts under the Civil Justice Reform Act, as of March 31, 2026.
| Motions pending more than six months | 0 |
| Bench trials submitted more than six months | 0 |
| Bankruptcy appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Social Security appeals pending more than six months | 0 |
| Civil cases pending more than three years | 4 |
A snapshot on that date: matters listed may since have been decided or reassigned. A motion referred to a magistrate judge is counted for both judges. Motions in multidistrict litigation, section 2255 cases and Social Security appeals are not counted, and a very large three-year count is generally a multidistrict docket. Source: Appendix A of the report (PDF); about the report.
How long civil cases take in this court
For the whole of United States District Court for the District of Alaska, not for Judge Peterson: median time from filing to disposition of the civil cases the court closed in the 12 months ending September 30, 2025, as reported by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
| Cases | Median time | |
|---|---|---|
| All civil cases closed | 235 | 10.1 months |
| Closed with no court action | 38 | 10.3 months |
| Closed before pretrial | 191 | 9.2 months |
| Closed during or after pretrial | 2 | not reported |
| Closed during trial | 4 | not reported |
| 12 months ending | Cases closed | Median time |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 235 | 10.1 months |
| Sep 2024 | 230 | 9 months |
| Sep 2023 | 259 | 6.3 months |
| Sep 2022 | 358 | 6.4 months |
| Sep 2021 | 281 | 9.4 months |
| Sep 2020 | 263 | 8.1 months |
| Sep 2019 | 336 | 8.3 months |
The table leaves out prisoner petitions, land condemnations, deportation reviews, recovery of overpayments and enforcement of judgments, and reports no median for fewer than 10 cases. A district that closed a large multidistrict litigation in the period shows very large counts and long medians for that year. Source: Table C-5, U.S. District Courts (spreadsheet).
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Ezel grounds your drafting and research in this profile: what has persuaded Judge Peterson, and what has not, cited to the signed orders.
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