Ralph Robert Beistline
How Judge Beistline rules, drawn from 25 signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
About Judge Beistline
Ralph R. Beistline is a judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska. Appointed by President George W. Bush, Judge Beistline received a commission on March 19, 2002. Judge Beistline assumed senior status on December 31, 2015.
Judge Beistline's practices and standing orders
The court's website lists no individual practices or standing orders of Judge Beistline'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 Beistline decides
Patterns drawn from this judge's own signed orders. Every observation links to the order it came from.
What persuades
In Quinn v. Houser, he dismissed a pretrial detainee’s habeas challenge while the state criminal cases remained ongoing, citing Alaska’s interest in enforcing its criminal laws.
“The State of Alaska has an important interest in enforcing its criminal laws, and Mr. Quinn’s criminal cases in state court remain ongoing.”
In Cook Inletkeeper v. United States Army Corps of Engineers, Beistline found the Corps’ explanation of conflicting wetland assessments adequate and deferred to its informed discretion in the permit dispute.
“Accordingly, the Court defers to the agency in this matter.”
In United States v. Burk, he adopted a recommendation to suppress evidence after the defendant’s removal from the scene exceeded the investigative purpose of a Terry stop.
“the removal of the defendant did not further the investigative purpose of the Terry stop and was ‘more intrusive than necessary’”
Procedural preferences
In Hernandez v. Lord, he construed a motion to amend the complaint as a motion to amend the scheduling order in the interests of justice and judicial economy.
“in the interests of justice and judicial economy, the Court construes the Motion to Amend Complaint as a Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order.”
In United States v. Burk, he adopted the magistrate judge’s final report and recommendation in full, calling it thorough and well reasoned.
“the Court hereby ACCEPTS and ADOPTS the Final Report and Recommendation at Docket 170 in its entirety. It is very thorough and well-reasoned.”
In Clarke’s already dismissed actions, the court denied a postjudgment motion and directed that no further filings be accepted in those named cases.
“No further filings in the above-captioned cases shall be accepted.”
Cautions
In Davison v. Anderson and Bischoff-Dimond, he dismissed the case with prejudice after the plaintiff missed a 60-day amendment deadline the court had warned would lead to dismissal.
“This case is DISMISSED with prejudice.”
Signed rulings
A grounded sample of orders signed by this judge, with the verbatim dispositive language.
“the State of Alaska's Motion to Dismiss All State Law Claims is GRANTED. All of Plaintiff's state-law tort claims against the State of Alaska are hereby DISMISSED in their entirety with prejudice under the immunity granted in AS 09.50.250 and in AS 09.50.280.”
“summary judgment is GRANTED in favor of all Defendants with respect to the remaining claims.”
“Defendant's Supplemental Motion at Docket 106 to suppress the methamphetamine that underlies the present Indictment ... is GRANTED.”
“The Defendant's First and Second Motions to Suppress at Dockets 33 and 38 are DENIED as moot.”
“In light of the foregoing, the Motions at Docket nos. 29, 70, 87, and 108 are DENIED.”
“This case is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“This case is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“The Petition, at Docket 1, is DISMISSED without prejudice.”
“the Court GRANTS IN PART AND DENIES IN PART summary judgment on Plaintiff's remaining three claims.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Amend Complaint at Docket 101, construed as a Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order, is GRANTED.”
“Plaintiff's Motion to Compel at Docket 103 is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE due to the re-opening of discovery. ... Plaintiff's Supplemental Motion to Compel at Docket 106 is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE due to the re-opening of discovery.”
“the Motion to Dismiss at Docket 133 is DENIED.”
“The Motion for Summary Judgment at Docket 14 is DENIED AS MOOT, because of the Court's Order of Dismissal at Docket 12 for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.”
“The Motion to Alter Judgment at Docket 16 is DENIED for lack of jurisdiction due to the Notice of Appeal filed at Docket 15.”
“The Motion for a New Trial at Docket 19 is DENIED for lack of jurisdiction due to the Notice of Appeal filed at Docket 19.”
Caseload & timing
From public federal docket records for this judge.
Beistline's reviewed civil docket is weighted toward self-represented prisoner civil-rights and habeas suits and Social Security disability appeals, alongside employment, environmental, administrative-law, and other civil-rights cases. In senior status he has continued to carry a Fairbanks federal criminal calendar and to handle occasional civil matters and settlement conferences.
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 | 0 |
| Report | Motions over six months | Cases over three years |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Mar 2025 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 2024 | 0 | 3 |
| Mar 2024 | 1 | 3 |
| Sep 2023 | 0 | 7 |
| Mar 2023 | 0 | 8 |
| Sep 2022 | 1 | 6 |
| Mar 2022 | 0 | 5 |
| Sep 2021 | 0 | 4 |
| Mar 2021 | 0 | 2 |
| Sep 2020 | 0 | 1 |
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 Beistline: 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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