Magistrate Orion Hughes-Knowles moved from Haines to the Capital City last month where he’ll serve as a Juneau magistrate.
Hughes-Knowles said he’ll remain responsible for the northern courts, including Hoonah, Gustavus, Skagway, Yakutat and Haines until a new magistrate is hired.
“It’s been a pretty rapid transition,” Hughes-Knowles said. “I’ll be the Juneau magistrate and the magistrate for those towns, covering the regions I currently cover.”
Hughes-Knowles, who grew up in Sitka before going to law school, began working as the local magistrate in January 2021. He earned a law degree from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and he interned with public defender offices in Richmond, Virginia and Sitka before working in Haines.
“I always thought about making that transition to a larger city down the line,” he said. “It’s a bit sooner than I was expecting but it was always a possibility on my radar. And I took it.”
Hughes-Knowles took over the job after Linn Asper, who served two stints as magistrate, retired. Asper began his first term in 1989 when he was in his 40s. Asper left for the south Pacific in 1995 and came out of retirement in 2016 to again take up the post on a part-time basis after magistrate John Hutchins retired.
Juneau magistrate Emily Wright said the court system is advertising for the position and hopes to begin interviewing candidates this month.
“We are excited to have magistrate Hughes-Knowles join the bench in Juneau,” she said. “We are working to quickly ensure the Haines post is filled. “The position closes June 13 and we will interview shortly thereafter.”