Ian Wheeles
Anchorage Superior Court | Third Judicial District
Judge Wheeles was appointed to the Anchorage Superior Court in June of 2022. This is his first judicial retention election.
Performance Summary
The Alaska Judicial Council finds that Judge Wheeles met or exceeded performance standards and recommends a "YES" vote for his retention in office.
This conclusion is based on surveys and reviews from attorneys, court employees, jurors, and other user groups familiar with the judge’s work, analysis of the judge’s financial disclosure documents, analysis of how often the judge’s decisions were affirmed on appeal, whether their pay was withheld for untimely decisions, how often the judge was disqualified from a case, whether the judge followed standards of ethical conduct and continuing education, input from the public, and the judge’s demonstrated commitment to the administration of justice and the community.
The Council’s evaluation process included an opportunity for Judge Wheeles to comment on his own performance.
“I think I have done well overall, but I am always finding areas for improvement. I enjoy my work greatly, but I do not want to feel ‘comfortable’ in my job because I do not want to be complacent. I strive every day to provide the best possible judicial service that I can to the public – meaning the parties and witnesses or observers before me that day.”
- Judge Wheeles
Detailed Performance Findings
The Council evaluated Judge Wheeles’s performance on legal ability, integrity, impartiality and fairness, judicial temperament, and diligence and administrative skills. Judge Wheeles met or exceeded the standard in each of these areas.
A summary of the Council’s findings on Judge Wheeles's performance is presented here. Complete reports are posted in the source documents below.
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▼ Legal Ability
Did the judge demonstrate knowledge of substantive law, evidence and procedure, and clarity and precision in their work?
Attorneys familiar with Judge Wheeles’s work rated his legal ability as good. See chart below for numerical ratings. Attorneys who appeared in cases before him gave positive reviews.
Jurors who served in Judge Wheeles’s courtroom rated his attentiveness, intelligence and skill as excellent.
In Alaska, a party who disagrees with a trial judge’s decision can appeal to a higher court. The appeal court analyzes the judge’s decision and issues an opinion. The Council reviews all the opinions and analyzes how often and why individual judges are affirmed or reversed as one measure of the judge’s legal ability. Judge Wheeles had 8 cases appealed and decided in the evaluation period, with an affirmance rate of 88% (Excellent). A review of the opinions raised no concerns about his legal ability. For more details, see the Appellate Affirmance Report, linked below.
Judge Wheeles met or exceeded educational requirements set by the Alaska Supreme Court.
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▼ Impartiality & Fairness
Did the judge demonstrate a sense of fairness and justice and treat all parties equally?
Attorneys, court employees, and social service professionals rated Judge Wheeles’s impartiality and fairness as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated his impartiality and fairness below acceptable. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Jurors who served in Judge Wheeles’s courtroom rated his impartiality as excellent. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Court rules allow a litigant at the beginning of a case to file a request for change of judge. Parties whose cases were assigned to Judge Wheeles seldom asked for a different judge. For more detail, see the Disqualification Report linked below.
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▼ Integrity
Was the judge's conduct free from impropriety or the appearance of impropriety, and did the judge make decisions without regard to possible public criticism?
Attorneys, court employees, and social service professionals rated Judge Wheeles’s integrity as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated him as acceptable. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Judge Wheeles filed financial disclosure statements with the Alaska Public Offices Commission and separate conflict-of-interest forms with the court system as required, and the Council found no items of concern in these disclosures.
The Council confirmed that Judge Wheeles was not the subject of any public disciplinary proceedings before the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, and that he followed standards of ethical conduct for judges.
Judges must disqualify themselves from cases where they have a conflict of interest or their impartiality might reasonably be questioned. The Council found no concern about Judge Wheeles’s performance on this requirement. For more detail, see the Disqualification Report linked below.
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▼ Judicial Temperament
Was the judge courteous and free from arrogance, and did the judge manifest human understanding and compassion?
Attorneys, court employees, and social service professionals rated Judge Wheeles’s judicial temperament as excellent. Peace and probation officers rated him below acceptable. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Jurors who served in Judge Wheeles’s courtroom rated him as excellent on respectful and courteous behavior.
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▼ Diligence & Administrative Skills
Was the judge prepared for court proceedings, did the judge work diligently, and was the judge reasonably prompt in making decisions?
Court employees and social service professionals rated Judge Wheeles’s diligence and administrative skills as excellent. Attorneys rated him as good. Peace and probation officers rated him as acceptable. See chart below for numerical ratings.
Under Alaska law, a judge cannot receive a paycheck if they have any decision undecided or uncompleted for more than six months. Each pay cycle, judges must sign an affidavit declaring that no matter referred to them has remained undecided or uncompleted for more than six months. The Council verified that Judge Wheeles was paid on schedule, and he certified that he had no untimely decisions.
Judge Wheeles demonstrated commitment to improving the administation of justice and to community outreach. Judge Wheeles:
- Chairs the court system’s Child Support Guidelines Review Committee, a group that advises the Alaska Supreme Court on the rules governing calculation of child support;
- Chairs the Family Rules Committee, a group that drafts, reviews, and recommends improvements in cases involving family law to the Alaska Supreme Court;
- Serves on a committee that reviews procedures concerning trial exhibits;
- Sits as a judge member of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct, which handles complaints about the ethical conduct of judges;
- Participated in activities of the Anchorage Youth Court;
- Volunteered for non-advising roles at the MLK Day legal clinics;
- Hosted youth groups at the courthouse and helped coach a high school mock trial;
- Volunteered at community events such as food bank and little league coaching;
- Arranged for the court system to donate law books it was no longer using to new attorneys;
- Gave educational presentations to members of the Alaska Bar Association’s Family Law section, to newer judges at the court system’s annual Newer Judges Conference, to ICWA workers at a conference sponsored by the Alaska Native Justice Center, to attorneys at a conference sponsored by the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and to magistrate judges at the court system’s annual statewide magistrate conference.
See Judge Wheeles's retention questionnaire for more information.
The Judicial Council distributed electronic surveys to attorneys, court employees, social service professionals, peace and probation officers, and jurors asking them to rate Judge Wheeles’s performance on key skills. Survey ratings from these groups are shown in the charts below.
