Judges Alaska

Alaska's top judge relinquished his post amid an investigation into sexual harassment charges but will stay on the state's five-member Supreme Court, officials said. The Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct gave Allen Compton a "private admonishment," the least severe sanction it could issue. After investigating two incidents, occurring in 1995 and 1996, the commission now considers the case closed, said Marla Greenstein, the panel's executive director.

In a rare recent case of siding with the oil industry, the Obama administration has asked a federal judge to allow some exploratory steps toward drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean. Late last month, a district judge in Alaska blocked all drilling-related activities in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea, citing gaps in the government's environmental impact assessments for drilling leases auctioned off during the George W. Bush administration. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar responded Friday by asking the court to narrow the ruling to allow drilling giant Statoil, which owns several Chukchi leases, to begin seismic testing in the area.

Exxon Corp. said Thursday it is preparing to go to trial on criminal charges stemming from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill after a judge's rejection of a negotiated fine in the case. In the meantime, however, Exxon said it has not ruled out the possibility of trying to reach a new settlement. Company officials were stunned Wednesday when an Alaskan federal judge threw out a $100-million criminal fine agreed to by Exxon and government lawyers in a plea-bargain arrangement.

A federal judge in Alaska refused on Monday to allow state officials to launch an aerial wolf hunt on a federal wildlife refuge in the Aleutian Islands, an emergency effort to save a herd of caribou that is on the verge of collapse. The ruling is the latest chapter in a legal battle between the state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that erupted after federal wildlife officials threatened to charge state game hunters with trespassing if they entered the refuge and began gunning down wolves.

A state judge Friday ordered former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood to spend 1,000 hours helping to clean up the Prince William Sound shores that were fouled with oil when his tanker, the Exxon Valdez, ran aground on Bligh Reef one year ago. Judge Karl Johnstone, himself a commercial fisherman in the sound prior to last year, also ordered Hazelwood to pay what he called "a token restitution" of $50,000.

An Alaska judge refused to dismiss charges against former Exxon Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood and ordered jury selection to begin in Anchorage for his trial in the nation's worst oil spill. His attorneys argued that he should not be tried in a state court because federal law preempts state law in such cases. The Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 24, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaskan waters; the cost of cleaning it up has been estimated at $2 billion.

A federal judge in Alaska on Wednesday rejected part of a $1-billion agreement to settle government claims arising from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, declaring that a negotiated criminal fine against the oil company was not large enough. U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland, in a decision that stunned parties to the settlement, threw out a $100-million criminal fine agreed to in a plea-bargain by Exxon Corp. and government attorneys. The fine would have been the largest ever paid for polluting.

A federal judge in Alaska refused on Monday to allow state officials to launch an aerial wolf hunt on a federal wildlife refuge in the Aleutian Islands, an emergency effort to save a herd of caribou that is on the verge of collapse. The ruling is the latest chapter in a legal battle between the state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that erupted after federal wildlife officials threatened to charge state game hunters with trespassing if they entered the refuge and began gunning down wolves.

In a rare recent case of siding with the oil industry, the Obama administration has asked a federal judge to allow some exploratory steps toward drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean. Late last month, a district judge in Alaska blocked all drilling-related activities in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea, citing gaps in the government's environmental impact assessments for drilling leases auctioned off during the George W. Bush administration. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar responded Friday by asking the court to narrow the ruling to allow drilling giant Statoil, which owns several Chukchi leases, to begin seismic testing in the area.

Two Los Angeles federal trial judges are among the leading candidates to replace Judge Anthony M. Kennedy on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals if the Sacramento jurist is confirmed as the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court. Sources close to the selection process identified the candidates as U.S. District Judges Pamela Ann Rymer and Dickran Tevrizian Jr., who have both been interviewed in the past for possible 9th Circuit jobs by U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington.

Alaska's top judge relinquished his post amid an investigation into sexual harassment charges but will stay on the state's five-member Supreme Court, officials said. The Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct gave Allen Compton a "private admonishment," the least severe sanction it could issue. After investigating two incidents, occurring in 1995 and 1996, the commission now considers the case closed, said Marla Greenstein, the panel's executive director.

Exxon Corp. said Thursday it is preparing to go to trial on criminal charges stemming from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill after a judge's rejection of a negotiated fine in the case. In the meantime, however, Exxon said it has not ruled out the possibility of trying to reach a new settlement. Company officials were stunned Wednesday when an Alaskan federal judge threw out a $100-million criminal fine agreed to by Exxon and government lawyers in a plea-bargain arrangement.

A federal judge in Alaska on Wednesday rejected part of a $1-billion agreement to settle government claims arising from the Exxon Valdez oil spill, declaring that a negotiated criminal fine against the oil company was not large enough. U.S. District Judge H. Russel Holland, in a decision that stunned parties to the settlement, threw out a $100-million criminal fine agreed to in a plea-bargain by Exxon Corp. and government attorneys. The fine would have been the largest ever paid for polluting.

A state judge Friday ordered former tanker captain Joseph Hazelwood to spend 1,000 hours helping to clean up the Prince William Sound shores that were fouled with oil when his tanker, the Exxon Valdez, ran aground on Bligh Reef one year ago. Judge Karl Johnstone, himself a commercial fisherman in the sound prior to last year, also ordered Hazelwood to pay what he called "a token restitution" of $50,000.

An Alaska judge refused to dismiss charges against former Exxon Valdez captain Joseph Hazelwood and ordered jury selection to begin in Anchorage for his trial in the nation's worst oil spill. His attorneys argued that he should not be tried in a state court because federal law preempts state law in such cases. The Exxon Valdez ran aground on March 24, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Alaskan waters; the cost of cleaning it up has been estimated at $2 billion.

A federal judge Wednesday denied Sen. Ted Stevens' request to move his corruption trial to his home state of Alaska, saying the lawmaker's plans to campaign for reelection risked improperly influencing potential jurors if the case were to be transferred there. Lawyers for Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, sought the change because most of the 40 or so witnesses expected to testify are from Alaska. They said Stevens had a right to continue his reelection campaign, which would be easier if the trial was held in Alaska.