Personal photos from Victor Carlson, which were donated to the Joint Archives of the Alaska Court System and the Alaska Bar Association
Judge Victor Carlson
Born in 1935, 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. Vic was one of the first openly gay judges to serve in Alaska, has been an active gay rights advocate in Anchorage, and served as a board member of Identity Inc., the the main sponsor of Anchorage's PrideFest parade.