Beverly Cutler (born September 10, 1949) is an American lawyer who was the first woman to sit on the state Superior Court in Alaska.[1]

Personal life

Cutler was born September 10, 1949[1][2] to Lloyd Cutler, the White House Counsel during the administrations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton,[1] and his wife, Louise Winslow Howe Cutler. She grew up outside of Washington, D.C.[3] Cutler, one of four children, had a brother and a sister who also became lawyers.[1] One sister, Louisiana Winslow Culter, also lives in Alaska.[4]

Cutler attended Yale Law School.[3] Her husband retired as a state trooper to grow potatoes.[5] She has four children[1] and lives in Palmer, Alaska.[3]

Career

In 1974, Cutler moved to Alaska to work as a research attorney for the Alaska Judicial Council.[3] She then went to work as a public defender.[3][6] Cutler was appointed by Governor Jay Hammond as a district court judge in Anchorage, Alaska and was sworn in on September 26, 1977.[6][3][1] At 28 years old, she replaced Dorothy Tyner, who was much older.[6][3][1] When first appointed to the bench, Cutler was the only judge in a one-courtroom courthouse.[1] As the court grew, they expanded into a nearby apartment where files were kept in the bathtub.[2]

In 1982, she was appointed the first judge at what is, as of 2012, the Superior Court in Palmer.[3] When she became a superior court judge there was no district court in that jurisdiction, and so the duties of that role were Cutler's as well.[2]

She received criticism after John Pearl Smith II, a prisoner she temporarily released to attend his deceased father's memorial service, escaped and was later recaptured.[1] She also presided over a case involving the mother of Levi Johnston.[5]

Cutler retired in 2009 after spending 32 years as a judge.[1][3] She was also the superior court's administrative judge.[2] At the end of her career, she served alongside three other judges in Palmer, Alaska, where she presided for 27 years.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Hollander, Zaz (May 12, 2009). "Judge Cutler to leave courtroom behind her". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Wellner, Andrew (February 2, 2009). "Judge Cutler to hang up robe". Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Judge Beverly Cutler, Part 1". The University of Alaska Fairbanks Oral History Program. 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Louisiana Cutler Is Bride in Alaska". New York Times. September 2, 1984. p. 67. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  5. 1 2 McGinniss, Joe (September 20, 2011). The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin. Crown. pp. 106–107. ISBN 978-0-307-71895-2. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 "Cutler sworn in as judge". Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Fairbanks, Alaska. Associated Press. September 27, 1977. p. 2. Retrieved May 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon
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