Victor "Vic" Carlson

Judge Victor Carlson was interviewed on January 24, 2012 by Karen Brewster and Michael Schwaiger at his home in Anchorage, Alaska. Victor Carlson grew up on a farm in Michigan, served in the Navy at Adak Island, and went to law school at the University of Michigan.  He came to Alaska in 1962 to work for Attorney General Ralph Moody. He went on to work for the Attorney General’s office in Fairbanks, was attorney for the Greater Anchorage Area Borough, was the first Public Defender in Anchorage when the agency was established in 1969, was Superior Court judge in Sitka, and was Superior Court judge in Anchorage until his retirement in 1995. In this interview, he talks about his childhood and education, working at Adak Island, the early years of Alaska’s court and legal system, starting the Public Defender Agency in Anchorage, becoming a judge, serving as a family court judge, working criminal and civil cases, sentencing rules, his mentors, responsibilities of a judge, interacting with the community, rural justice, being an openly gay judge and a role model for gay youth, and significant cases he worked on.