Announcing nominees for Bethel District Court – The Delta Discovery, Inc.

The Alaska Judicial Council met in Bethel on February 17, and in Anchorage on February 18-19, 2026, to interview applicants for vacancies on the Bethel District Court and Anchorage District Court.

The Alaska Judicial Council voted on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, to nominate Joy Anderson and David R. Boyer as the most qualified applicants to fill the Bethel District Court vacancy. Following its meeting on February 18 and 19, the Council voted to nominate Ronald Dupuis, Julia Metzger, Ben Muse, Eric Salinger, and Matt Widmer as the most qualified applicants to fill the Anchorage District Court vacancy. The governor has 45 days in which to appoint from among these nominees to fill the positions.

The Judicial Council is required to nominate two or more of the most qualified applicants applying for a judicial vacancy. (The framers of our Constitution referred to this standard as the “best available timber.”)

The Council is a citizens’ commission created by the Alaska Constitution composed of three attorneys, three non-attorneys, and the Chief Justice of the Alaska Supreme Court.

The Council completes an extensive investigation and evaluation of judicial applicants.

The Council reviews each applicant’s education, experience, bar discipline and credit records, participation in community activities, and other records. It asks members of the Alaska Bar to evaluate the applicants, encourages the public to submit comments, and interviews the applicants.

Nominees for the Bethel District Court vacancy are:

Joy Anderson: Ms. Anderson has been an Alaska resident for 12 years and has practiced law for 13 years. She graduated from Vanderbilt University Law School in 2011 and is currently a co-director of the Community Justice Worker Resource Center at Alaska Legal Services in Bethel.

David R. Boyer: Mr. Boyer has been an Alaska resident for 8 years and has practiced law for 25½ years. He graduated from Brigham Young University – J. Reuben Clark Law School in 1999 and is currently an assistant attorney general with the Department of Law in Bethel.