CRIMINAL LAW
Court of Appeals of Alaska (2024)
Jack Jeffrey
In Beltz v. State, 551 P.3d 583 (Alaska Ct. App. 2024), the court of appeals held that an arrestee only commits the voluntary act required for the offense of promoting contraband in a correctional facility when the arrestee knows that maintaining possession of the contraband is a separate offense and has had a meaningful opportunity to relinquish possession. (Id. at 586). Beltz was arrested and transported to a correctional facility where contraband, a controlled substance, was located on his person during a strip search. (Id. at 592). Beltz was subsequently charged with a separate offense, promoting contraband in a correctional facility. (Id.). Beltz moved to have the charge dismissed and argued that the State had failed to establish that he had voluntarily brought the contraband into the correctional facility. (Id.). The Superior Court denied Beltz’s motion, and he appealed. (Id.). The court of appeals held that Beltz did not satisfy the statute’s voluntary act requirement because he was not afforded a meaningful opportunity to relinquish his possession of the contraband. (Id. at 593). Further, there is no evidence that officers discussed with Beltz that possession of the contraband in the correctional facility constituted a separate offense. (Id.). Additionally, the court of appeals held that a sign on the exterior of the correctional facility stating that possession of contraband was an offense was insufficient to alert an arrestee that it was a crime to possess contraband in the facility even though it may be sufficient for a visitor. (Id.). Therefore, the court of appeals reversed the denial of Beltz’s motion to dismiss because he did not satisfy the voluntary act requirement as lacked knowledge that maintaining possession of the contraband is a separate offense and did not have a meaningful opportunity to relinquish possession. (Id. at 592–93).
