Court orders Alaska DOC to allow in-person legal visitation regardless of vaccination status

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - An Anchorage Superior Court Judge has ordered Alaska’s Department of Corrections to resume in-person legal visitation, regardless of clients’ vaccination status.

Institutional activities and outside access to DOC facilities across the state were suspended in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order, signed last week by Judge Una Grandbhir, comes after a group of attorneys sought injunctive relief. Additionally, at the beginning of March 2021, the Alaska Black Caucus publicly called on the DOC to resume in-person attorney/client visits.

The DOC recently announced in-person legal visits could resume, but only for people in custody who are fully vaccinated.

The order granting preliminary injunction now prohibits the DOC from distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated inmates in its visitation policy and requires that visiting facilities remain open to attorneys.