Alaska attorney general outlines "quality of life" prosecutions, creates solicitor general post

Attorney General-designate Stephen Cox told the Alaska House Judiciary Committee on Jan. 26 that his top priority is public safety and described a new Department of Law push to coordinate state and municipal responses to retail theft and public-disorder offenses.

Cox said John Skidmore will lead a “quality of life” initiative aimed at downtown Anchorage, pairing state prosecutors with municipal attorneys and other partners to aggregate misdemeanors into felony cases where appropriate and to use civil nuisance tools for drug houses and other hotspots. “Top priority at the Department of Law is always gonna be public safety,” Cox said. He described Skidmore as a “force multiplier” who will also train newer prosecutors.

Why it matters: The initiative represents a shift toward cross-jurisdictional enforcement intended to stretch limited resources by cross‑designating city attorneys to prosecute certain state felonies and by using civil remedies in conjunction with criminal charges. Committee members pressed Cox on how the program will be staffed without new funding; Deputy Attorney General Corey Mills said the civil division was reorganized into two director posts through internal budget reallocation so supervisors can get more substantive support.

Cox also described a new solicitor general role, filled by Jenna Lawrence, intended to centralize and manage Alaska’s participation in multi‑state litigation, amicus briefs and multistate letters. “We’ve been asked to join over 1,000 multi‑state amicus briefs,” Cox said, and the solicitor general will help screen filings for issues that could later harm Alaska in other cases.

Committee members asked whether the quality‑of‑life work would extend beyond Anchorage. Mills said the effort will start in Anchorage and expand to the Mat‑Su Valley as capacity allows. Cox and Deputy Angie Kemp said the office is developing a pretrial diversion policy with a quality‑of‑life component to steer low‑risk, first‑time offenders toward treatment or community service where appropriate.

No formal committee votes were taken on the Department of Law presentation. The department’s leaders said they will return to the committee for further discussion and follow‑up on staffing, diversion policy details and cross‑designation paperwork.

Sources: Testimony and answers from Attorney General-designate Stephen Cox, Deputy Attorney General Corey Mills and Deputy Angie Kemp at the Jan. 26 House Judiciary Committee hearing.