Alaska R. Admin. 26.2

(a) Except as otherwise provided by this rule,

no person may possess a weapon on the premises of

any court facility, or in the portion of any other

building occupied by the court system, unless the

weapon is to be used as evidence in a court

proceeding. The term weapon includes firearms,

knives, and chemical agents such as mace and pepper

spray. This prohibition does not apply to:

(1) a peace officer;

(2) a private uniformed security guard employed by a financial institution or private security

service who is transporting money or other valuables;

(3) a private security guard under contract with

the court system to provide security services within a

court facility who possesses a weapon authorized

under the contract;

(4) a judicial officer, who may possess on the

premises of any court facility, or in the portion of any

other building occupied by the court system: (a)

small knives or multi-tools (like Swiss Army-type or

Leatherman-type tools) provided that any knife blade

may not exceed 4 inches in length, except for kitchen

knives and utensils for purposes of food preparation

and service on court premises; (b) small chemical

agent canisters for personal safety purposes; and (c)

any other weapon upon receiving written authorization from the administrative director.

Authorization to possess a weapon other than a

handgun under (c) of this rule, will be given only

upon a showing of good cause.

(5) court system employees, who may possess

on the premises of any court facility, or in the portion

of any other building occupied by the court system:

(a) small knives or multi-tools (like Swiss Army-type

or Leatherman-type tools) provided that any knife

blade may not exceed 4 inches in length, except for

kitchen knives and utensils for purposes of food

preparation and service on court premises; and (b)

small chemical agent canisters for personal safety

purposes; or

(6) court system facility construction contractors, who may possess on the premises of

court facilities knives and knife-like tools that are

necessary for their work.

For the purposes of this rule, a peace officer

includes officers of the Department of Corrections

who are qualified and authorized to carry a firearm in

the performance of their official duties as indicated on their official Department of Corrections identification card, which must be presented upon

entry into a court facility.

(b) The exemptions listed in (a)(1)-(3) and

(a)(5)-(6) apply only to persons acting within the

scope and authority of their employment. A peace

officer, private security guard, court system employee, or court system contractor who is participa-

ting in or attending a court proceeding outside the

scope of his or her employment, whether as a party,

witness, victim, or other interested person, is not

permitted to bring a weapon onto court premises.

(c) A judicial officer must comply with the

requirements of this subsection and must notify and

receive written authorization from the administrative

director prior to bringing a handgun into a court

facility.

(1) Before a judicial officer may bring a

handgun into the premises of any court facility, or in

the portion of any other building occupied by the

court system, the judicial officer must provide to the

administrative director a certificate of successful

completion of a handgun course as described in AS

18.65.715. A valid Alaska Concealed Handgun

Permit issued by the Department of Public Safety

will satisfy the requirement of a certificate. The

certificate or Alaska Concealed Handgun Permit

must be obtained within five years prior to the date of

the judicial officer’s notification to the administrative

director that the officer intends to bring a handgun

onto court system premises. The administrative

director will issue a letter of approval to the judicial

officer unless there is good cause to withhold

approval. The administrative director may withdraw

approval to possess a handgun on court premises for

good cause. The administrative director will inform

the director of court security and the area court

administrator in the judicial district where the judicial

officer sits that the judicial officer has permission to

have a handgun, and require that this information be

kept confidential.

(2) The administrative director may advise the

supervisor of the Alaska State Trooper/Judicial

Services unit or the chief of the police department

that provides court security at each court location of

the names of the judicial officers who are approved to

possess handguns on court premises. The administrative director will request that this information be kept

confidential and disseminated only to those law

enforcement personnel who need to know that a

judicial officer may be armed.

(3) For each judicial officer who notifies and receives authorization from the administrative director to possess a handgun on court premises, the

court system will provide a handgun safe, which shall

be permanently secured in the judicial officer’s

chambers. The judicial officer must keep the handgun

and ammunition secure at all times while on court

premises: the handgun and ammunition must be

secured in the handgun safe or in the judicial officer’s

locked vehicle at all times when the judicial officer is

not carrying the handgun securely on his or her

person.

(4) In the event that law enforcement personnel

respond to a law enforcement or court security

incident on court premises and make contact with an

armed judicial officer, the judicial officer shall notify

the law enforcement officer as soon as safely

practicable that the judicial officer is armed; if

requested by the law enforcement officer, the judicial

officer shall surrender his or her handgun to the law

enforcement officer or comply with other lawful

directions given by the law enforcement officer.

(d) Weapons to be used as evidence in court

proceedings must be marked and prepared as directed

by the administrative director by administrative

bulletin. Each presiding judge may prescribe

procedures for courts within that judge's district

requiring prior notification to designated court

personnel before weapons to be used as evidence

may be brought onto court premises.