A Public Defender's Life in Alaska: Public Defense

Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Public Defense Blogs

OR PHONE (866) 635-1838 for Bankruptcy Help, (866) 635-6190 for Divorce,
(866) 635-2689 for Personal Injury or (866) 635-9402 for Criminal Defense

Find a Local Lawyer

Bankruptcy (866) 635-1838
Divorce (866) 635-6190
Personal Injury (866) 635-2689
Criminal Defense (866) 635-9402

Public Defense

A Public Defender's Life in Alaska

Post Frequency: 4.3/day

Last Entry: December 10, 2018 at 17:21:00

So, despite a busy Saturday, I

Posted on November 22, 2009
So, despite a busy Saturday, I still got to see my kids play in the snow. That's it. I won't talk about pipes (purposefully?) filled with broken glass and now frozen. I won't talk about moldy sub-floors or painting. Or not having enough money. Or an upcoming murder trial...

So, in a twist of irony, I called

Posted on November 20, 2009
So, in a twist of irony, I called the police today. Made a report. Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. I had no choice. The deal with the renters has gotten out of control. I won't go into details, but it really sucks. Last night I went over the house and discovered even more damage...

So, it has gotten cold. It went

Posted on November 17, 2009
So, it has gotten cold. It went from t-shirt weather a few days ago to -14 this morning when I went to work. It is about -10 outside right now. Even the animals feel it. We found this little owl right outside our back door perched on bottle of the finest whiskey...

So, my week of vacation is at

Posted on November 15, 2009
So, my week of vacation is at an end. I didn't do much. The weather finally turned cold and on November 11, 2009, Soldotna got the first snow of the year. I worked on the rental a little. I didn't do as much as I might have as G was here. We played a lot of video games...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

So, I'm at the rental fixing holes

Posted on November 04, 2009
So, I'm at the rental fixing holes in drywall (thanks to Danny and Melissa Gentry of Soldotna or Kenai Alaska) when I get a call for road kill moose. Hell yeah, I'm going. Trashed rental or not. Great news, I thought. It was a giant old cow. I'm thinking, this is a lot of meat...

So, I have this little rental.

Posted on November 03, 2009
So, I have this little rental. It is not much. It is the house we started in. I thought I would keep it as an 'investment'. I had a young couple move in. They were just starting out with a small child. So I agreed to keep the power in my name. I filled the oil tank so they could get through the winter and they agreed to fill it up when they left...

So, happy Halloween. The orange

Posted on October 31, 2009
So, happy Halloween. The orange stuff to the right of the moose was a pumpkin. The moose ate it and then promptly took a little nap. I think it is funny that in Alaska you have concerns that just don't exist anywhere else. Like moose eating your Jack o' lantern...

So, if people aren't looking information

Posted on October 30, 2009
So, if people aren't looking information on life in Alaska or the Public Defender Agency, they want to know what the salary is for a Public Defender in Alaska. To be honest I'm not really sure. I think most people start somewhere above $50,000. If you are in the Bush it would be more...

So, Snug Harbor road near Cooper

Posted on October 25, 2009
So, Snug Harbor road near Cooper Landing. I have tried twice before to get up it and have been turned around twice by the snow. Today I made it. Um, the end was only a few hundred yards past where I made it before. I did find a kick ass camping spot right on Kenai Lake though...

So, I am absolutely fascinated

Posted on October 21, 2009
So, I am absolutely fascinated lately by how people are finding this blog. Granted, searches for "Alaska Public Defender Agency" seem to be at the top. But nearly as many people want to know what life is like in Alaska. Do we get sick of the dark? The cold? What are the disadvantages to life in Alaska? The pros and cons to life in Alaska...

So, I have a small problem. If

Posted on October 18, 2009
So, I have a small problem. If you google "Alaska Public Defender Agency", this blog is now the first hit. So it is time to make clear, if it wasn't already, that this blog is personal. I am not trying to suggest what life would be like for every public defender in Alaska...

So, one of the programs I have

Posted on October 15, 2009
So, one of the programs I have installed allows me to see referrals to this blog. One of the people who looked at the blog Googled "are public defenders happy"? Well I can't answer that of course. But I think that generally we are. I think that generally we take a certain amount of pride in the words of Harper Lee...

So, I want to write a brief post

Posted on October 14, 2009
So, I want to write a brief post about basic immigration law. There seems to be this enduring myth among Americans that one can simply come to this country and become American. Ummm, no. In fact if I were not Canadian with the NAFTA treaty, I could not be in Alaska at all...

So, today is the day I hate being

Posted on October 09, 2009
So, today is the day I hate being an 'Alaskan'. Of course I am not an 'Alaskan'. Not really. Neither apparently are my girls. Nor my wife who is raising them here. Today is the day I get to see people who arrived here after me get their PFD. People who I goddamned well know will leave before me...

So, I just had a moment I had to

Posted on October 06, 2009
So, I just had a moment I had to memorialize. Not for anyone in the world but me. I am cooking a leek and potato soup. Starting with my own bacon. My own leeks. My own potatoes, parsley and chicken stock. My girls were with me. J was cleaning in another room...

So, have you ever had one of those

Posted on October 05, 2009
So, have you ever had one of those weekends? Where you are so sick? I slept from 10 p.m to 3 p.m on friday/saturday. Back in bed by 8 pm and slept until 1 pm today. I awoke during the night to wet sheets from sweat. Had strange dreams. Tossed and turned...

So, I just got back from my fourth

Posted on October 02, 2009
So, I just got back from my fourth annual Public Defender's conference in Girdwood. It was a good conference, but not the same without G. This year it was only two days, instead of 3 so it just flew by. It was also harder to get drunk with one less night...

So, to celebrate the end of another

Posted on September 27, 2009
So, to celebrate the end of another summer, and my 3 years with the Alaska Public Defender Agency (which was yesterday), I went to one of my favorite places on Earth, Tustumena Lake. The day was amazing. The fall colors stunning. The boat ran flawlessly...

So, there is something so satisfying

Posted on September 25, 2009
So, there is something so satisfying about having every single thing (other than a few seasonings) on the plate from the back yard. We often eat like this at this time of the year. Now it is pork, but I also have rabbit and chicken. I consider the fish I caught and even the road kill moose to be "my" food too...

So, time to kill the pigs. I always

Posted on September 19, 2009
So, time to kill the pigs. I always hate this part. But there was no choice. They were the right size and I finished them on barley, corn and molasses as well as strawberries and melons that Safeway was going to throw out. It was just time. And before anyone makes a stupid comment about why I am smiling, it was a social event...

So, this episode of Star Trek always

Posted on September 16, 2009
So, this episode of Star Trek always brings me to tears. This is not the entire episode but a video. God, life is short. This episode is called the Inner Light. Anyone who has not seen it should.

So, happiness in Alaska in September

Posted on September 13, 2009
So, happiness in Alaska in September is a meat locker full of moose. I mean full. You can't see around the door. There are 3 moose in here...and no I'm not poaching. I have the shop so I'm helping to butcher. These were all shot in Kotzebue around the same time I was there...

So, I took Kadee fishing for the

Posted on September 06, 2009
So, I took Kadee fishing for the first time today. It was the first time all four of us had been on the boat. It is a gorgeous day and I just went to Sports Lake. It is small enough that if anything went wrong we could be on shore in seconds. Kadee is already a better fisherman than I am...

So, the Noatak river! Simply stunning.

Posted on September 03, 2009
So, the Noatak river! Simply stunning. I am so disappointed that pictures cannot do this place justice. We went up to retrieve some supplies that had been left behind at camp. A storm came up and people had to run for it. Unfortunately when we got there we discovered that a brown bear had found the supplies first...

So, I went hunting last night.

Posted on September 02, 2009
So, I went hunting last night. Borrowed a 4 wheeler. Went towards where the caribou were. But, with my luck (those of you who know me know what 'Adams' luck means) Sadie Creek was too swollen to cross. First time in years apparently. So I turned around...

So, it is really, really sad.

Posted on September 01, 2009
So, it is really, really sad. I did a trial call today and 100% of the cases were alcohol related. What makes it worse is that there is no residential treatment here in Kotzebue. The DA is taking the unfortunate position that jail is the only remaining option...

So, Kotzebue! My first time here

Posted on August 31, 2009
So, Kotzebue! My first time here when it wasn't winter. What a glorious time to be here. The fall colors are just beginning. I can see the ocean from my room and my office. I am still feeling the sticker shock of things here but otherwise I love it...

So, here is to AJ. She makes my

Posted on August 28, 2009
So, here is to AJ. She makes my heart ache she is so beautiful. I wonder if I only think that because she is mine? Nah. She is simply stunning.P.S. So is Kadee. Here is she chewing on a rabbit bone. Pfffftttt. And she hasn't been given her PFD yet. How could she be more Alaskan?

So, it begins. Fall. Went out

Posted on August 23, 2009
So, it begins. Fall. Went out camping on Tustumena Lake this weekend. Beautiful out there. But this little patch of color is the first sign of fall I have seen. The boat ran like a champ and we went out for a ride last night after the wind died down...

So, the hogs got out the other

Posted on August 22, 2009
So, the hogs got out the other day. Put a hole in the fence and took off. By the time I got home they had been gone hours. To make a long story short, we found them. I wish I had had my camera. We were walking down the road. J was pushing AJ in a stroller...

Previous | Next

Related Law Bulletins

World-renowned Dermatologist Warns Public of Botox Dangers
Beverly Hills, CA: Dr. Arnold Klein, a world-renowned dermatologis...

NO TRIMMING IN PUBLIC PLACES
In the Village of Scarsdale, you're not allowed to &quot...

Zyprexa on Trial in Alaska: Lilly Accused of Putting Profit Before Patients
Anchorage, AK: Spectators in a courtroom in Anchorage are getting ...

Catholic Legal Theory and life and death
Tom Berg’s question regarding the propriety or not of capital pu...