CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Sasha Kahn In Burton-Hill v. State, 500 P.3d 1016 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that in order to prevent a miscarriage of justice, an appellate court has the authority to request supplemental briefing, and effectively used that authority in requesting supplemental briefs regarding the definitions of terms and phrases Continue Reading »
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT Adam Beyer In Burke v. Criterion General, Inc., 499 P.3d 319 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that amendments to the Alaska Workers’ Compensation Act did not violate procedural or substantive due process in allowing project owners and contractors the use of the exclusive remedy defense. (Id. at 320). A worker’s estate Continue Reading »
CIVIL PROCEDURE Clara Nieman In Windel v. Matanuska-Susitna Borough, 496 P.3d 392 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that (1) an unchallenged res judicata judgment in a prior case bound the parties in the current proceeding and (2) a plaintiff’s pursuit of bad faith claims which had already been decided in prior cases justified an Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Peter Graham In Williams v. State, 486 P.3d 1134 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals affirmed a conviction of second-degree sexual assault. (Id. at 1135). Williams was convicted of second-degree sexual assault following a jury trial in the Superior Court, First Judicial District, Juneau. (Id.). Williams raised four issues on appeal. Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Emma Giusto In Williams v. State, 480 P.3d 95 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that joint involvement by both spouses in the criminal or fraudulent activity is not required for the crime-fraud exception to confidential marriage communications to apply. (Id. at 97). Williams and his girlfriend went to the Continue Reading »
HEALTH LAW Hannah Rogers In Titus v. Department of Corrections, 496 P.3d 412, the supreme court held that “the matter at issue” in determining “whether an expert’s training, expertise, or certification is directly related to the matter at issue” in a medical malpractice action, refers to the underlying circumstances of the medical event or treatment Continue Reading »
PROPERTY LAW Megan Mason Dister In Thomas v. Joseph P. Casteel Trust, 496 P.3d 403 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court upheld a nonjudicial foreclosure because the junior lienholder was not prejudiced by a failure to provide supplemental notice, the sale price did not warrant the foreclosure being set aside, and there was not sufficient evidence Continue Reading »
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW Peter Graham In Sumpter v. Fairbanks North Star Borough School District, 494 P.3d 505 (Alaska 2021), the Supreme Court held that workers’ compensation presumption analysis does not weigh the evidence presented during the first two stages of a workers’ compensation claim. (Id. at 514). Rather, the evidence a defendant introduces to Continue Reading »
EMPLOYMENT LAW Clara Nieman In State, Department of Corrections v. Wozniak, 491 P.3d 1081 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that an agency did not abuse its discretion in awarding attorneys’ fees as both a lump sum based on the attorney’s past work and ongoing statutory minimum fees based on future workers’ compensation benefits. (Id. Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Sloane Bessey In State v. Galvin, 491 P.3d 325 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that when a preliminary injunction threatens the success of an election it should be denied to protect the public interest. (Id. at 339–40). Prior to the November 2020 general election, the Division of Elections (the Division) made the Continue Reading »
