--- title: "Sharon Louise Gleason | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-07" --- # Sharon Louise Gleason U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska - State: Alaska - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-10-02 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - American lawyer and jurist who serves as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska since January 1, 2022 - Judge, District Court, D. Alaska, 2012-present - presiding judge, Third Judicial District, 2009-2011 - She clerked for Alaska Supreme Court Chief Justice Edmond W. Burke (1983–1984), practiced law in Anchorage from 1984 to 2001, and served as Alaska Superior Court judge from 2001 to 2011, later as presiding judge - Law clerk, Hon. Edmond Wayne Burke, Alaska Supreme Court, 1983-1984 ### Education - University of California, Davis School of Law in, graduating with Order of the Coif honors — J.D. (1983) ### Additional information - She became Chief Judge in 2022, succeeding. - Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation; appointing authority: Barack Obama; from 2012-01-04 - The Senate confirmed her on November 15, 2011 (87–8 vote), and she received her commission on January 4, 2012. - On April 6, 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Gleason to the U.S. District Court for the, replacing. - She was retained by Alaska voters in 2004 and 2010. - Private practice, Anchorage, AK, 1984-2001 - Born 1957 in Rochester, New York. - The first woman to serve as a federal judge in the. - As Chief Judge, Gleason presides over the District of Alaska’s federal court, which handles a wide range of cases, from civil disputes to criminal matters. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### courtroom technology Scope: courtwide Courtwide presentation-related guidance applies to this judge. Evidence excerpt: DEPS . Some courtrooms in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Juneau utilize a Digital Evidence Presentation System (DEPS) to facilitate the presentation of digital evidence quickly and efficiently. . [Courtroom Technology | District of Alaska | United States District Court](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/courttech) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393851) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393851) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393851) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/1215/sharon-louise-gleason/) - [Courtroom Technology | District of Alaska | United States District Court](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/courttech) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/40) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/55) - [www.senate.gov](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1121/vote_112_1_00206.htm) - [www.govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/crec/157/S/7425) - [Courtroom Technology | District of Alaska | United States District Court](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/courttech) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/courttech) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/55) - [www.fjc.gov](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393851) - [www.uscourts.gov](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [www.uscourts.gov](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/40) - [www.senate.gov](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1121/vote_112_1_00206.htm) - [www.govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/crec/157/S/7425) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/40) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/courttech) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/40) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/55) - [www.fjc.gov](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393851) - [www.uscourts.gov](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [www.uscourts.gov](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [www.akd.uscourts.gov](https://www.akd.uscourts.gov/node/40) - [www.senate.gov](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1121/vote_112_1_00206.htm) - [www.govinfo.gov](https://www.govinfo.gov/link/crec/157/S/7425) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason", "name": "Sharon Louise Gleason | KnowJudges", "description": "Sharon Louise Gleason, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. Source-linked judicial identity, courtroom procedures, and presentation guidance.", "dateModified": "2026-10-07", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason#judge" } }, { "@type": "Person", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason#judge", "name": "Sharon Louise Gleason", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason", "jobTitle": "U.S. District Judge", "worksFor": { "@type": "GovernmentOrganization", "name": "U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska" }, "sameAs": [ "https://www.fjc.gov/node/1393851" ], "birthDate": "1957", "birthPlace": "Rochester, NY", "alumniOf": [ { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "Washington University in St. Louis" }, { "@type": "EducationalOrganization", "name": "University of California, Davis School of Law" } ] }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "KnowJudges", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Alaska", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/state/alaska" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Sharon Louise Gleason", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/sharon-l-gleason" } ] } ] } ``` ## Federal civil docket activity Dataset updated through 2026-06-30. | Period | Assigned cases | Terminated cases | Median disposition (months) | Median sample | | --- | ---: | ---: | ---: | ---: | | 1y | 302 | 4 | Not available | 4 | | 2y | 551 | 93 | 3.7 | 93 | | 5y | 1005 | 471 | 5.1 | 471 | | 10y | 1498 | 949 | 6.8 | 949 | Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/ ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-651872d6e45e0d82319ecccc) — Civil actions in United States District Courts; Rule 81 exceptions apply. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.