CRIMINAL LAW
Peter Graham
In Linden v. Municipality of Anchorage, 501 P.3d 238 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals held that the crimes of assault and of family violence do not constitute the same offense for purposes of double jeopardy when a single act produces two crimes suffered by separate victims. (Id. at 241). Linden was convicted of both assault and family violence after attacking his girlfriend in the presence of their child. (Id. at 240). On appeal, Linden argued that the double jeopardy clauses of the state and federal constitutions required the lower court to merge his guilty verdicts for assault and family violence into a single conviction. (Id.). The Court of Appeals applied the Whitton merger test to determine the validity of Linden’s claim, looking to the different criminal statutes and then assessing any differences in intent or conduct in light of societal interests to be vindicated. (Id. at 241). The court concluded that the legislature intended for separate convictions for assault and family violence when each of the crimes resulted in separate injuries to different people. (Id. at 243). The Court of Appeals thus held that the crimes of assault and of family violence do not constitute the same offense for purposes of double jeopardy when a single act produces two crimes suffered by separate victims. (Id. at 241).
