Patricia Collins
Patricia A. Collins was a superior court judge in the First District of Alaska. She was appointed as a superior court judge in March 1999 by Governor Tony Knowles.[1][2][3][4] Collins retired from the court on June 11, 2011.[5][6]
Education
Judge Collins attended the University of Virginia in 1976 to earn her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations. She later attended Gonzaga University in 1982 for her J.D. magna cum laude.[3][7]
Career
- Member of the Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct[8]
- Part-time Federal Magistrate Judge from 1989 to 1999
- An adjunct professor at the University of Alaska Southeast from 1991 to 1997
- Alaska District Court Judge from 1995 to 1999
- Owned her own law practice between 1987 and 1995, with focus in labor law and criminal defense
- Private practice with the law firm of Guess & Rudd in Alaska between 1982 and 1987
- An Interim position as Assistant Public Defender for the State of Alaska between 1984 and 1985
- Commercial fisherwoman in Kodiak and Southeast Alaska[3]
Noteworthy cases
State of Alaska v. Rachelle Waterman
2006
Judge Collins presided over the Waterman Case's hearings in Juneau, Alaska on November 26, 2004 and August 22, 2005 and the trial from January 23, 2006 to February 7, 2006.[9]
- The case involved the alleged plot of Rachelle Waterman to murder her mother, Lauri Waterman. Two of Rachelle Waterman's former boyfriends, Jason Arrant and Brian Radel,pleadedguilty to and were convicted of, the killing of Lauri Waterman while Rachelle Waterman was out of town with her father on November 14, 2004.[10]
- Prosecutors claimed Waterman plotted her mother’s death to get back at her for years of physical and emotional abuse, and they contended she asked her former boyfriend, Jason Arrant, to kill her mother.[11]
The trial ended in February 2006 with a hung jury favoring acquittal.[12]
- For more details on the 2006 case, please see: State v. Waterman (12/05/2008) ap-2198
2011
On January 24, 2011, the Alaska Court of Appeals restored Statements leading the state to put Rachelle Waterman on trial again with Judge William Carey presiding over the case.[13] Carey moved the trial to Anchorage after concluding it would be difficult to seat an impartial jury in Ketchikan, Alaska.[14]
- For more details on this decision, please see: "Jury selection process in Anchorage finalized for Waterman trial," January 24, 2011
On February 7, 2011, Judge William Carey denied the defense's motion to acquit Rachelle Waterman based on possible misconduct by the state. The prosecution has admitted they should have turned over e-mails about the possible misconduct by the investigator, but they say Waterman didn't suffer because the witness brought it to the defense.[15]
- For more details on this decision, please see: "Judge Carey rejects motion to acquit in Waterman Case," February 7, 2011
- For more details on the 2011 case, please see: State of Alaska v. Rachelle Waterman (2011)
See also
- News: Menendez replaces Collins on Juneau Superior Court
- News: Judge Collins set to retire in June and will be replaced by one of two nominees
- News: Jury selection process in Anchorage finalized for Waterman trial
Footnotes
- ↑ Juneau Empire, "Judicial Council solicits applications as Collins prepares to step down," December 9, 2010
- ↑ Alaska Court System: Superior Court judges
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Russian American Rule of Law Consortium: Patricia Collins Biography
- ↑ KTUU "State Supreme Court judges re-appointed," January 5, 2010
- ↑ Alaska Judicial Council, Current judges, Patricia Collins
- ↑ "Press Release: Judicial Vacancy Announcement" Alaska judicial council, December 8, 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct: Patricia Collins Education Information
- ↑ Alaska Commission on Judicial Conduct website
- ↑ "Document: Notice of Appeal or Petition and Docketing Statement for the case of Rachelle Waterman"
- ↑ The Anchorage Daily News "Trial begins for woman accused in death of her mother," January 28th, 2011
- ↑ "Second Waterman murder trial opens" KTUU-TV, January 24, 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ "Waterman murder trial ends without a verdict" The Associated Press, 2/15/06
- ↑ "Rachelle Waterman's Second Murder Trial Underway in Anchorage" youralaskalink.com,
- ↑ "Judge moves Waterman trial to Anchorage" Associated Press, Jan 13, 2011
- ↑ Channel 2 News "Judge Denies Motion to Acquit in Waterman Case," February 07, 2011
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Alaska • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Alaska
State courts:
Alaska Supreme Court • Alaska Court of Appeals • Alaska Superior Court • Alaska District Court
State resources:
Courts in Alaska • Alaska judicial elections • Judicial selection in Alaska