HEALTH LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Trescot v. Foy, 492 P.3d 1014 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that in reviewing a petition for new trial in a medical malpractice case, the trial court erred in admitting the affidavits of jurors as evidence supporting the petition, reversing the trial court’s grant of a mistrial for Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL JUSTICE Mary Beth Barksdale In Smith v. State, 484 P.3d 610 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that, where inordinate expenses for travel and housing would arise, a district judge may limit the radius for calling prospective jurors for a criminal case to a distance lower than the 50-mile radius established Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Margot Graham In Alaska Public Offices Commission v. Patrick, 494 P.3d 53 (Alaska 2021), the Alaska Supreme Court held that statutory contribution limits are unconstitutional in the context of independent expenditure groups (Id. at 60). Individual plaintiffs filed complaints with the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), alleging that to independent expenditure Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In State v. Powell, 487 P.3d 609 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that a video of a forensic interview of a victim in a child sexual abuse and controlled substance case was inadmissible evidence as presented to a grand jury because the grand jury format was Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Baer v. State, 499 P.3d 1037 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that a conviction for second-degree theft was proper where a social security card was stolen, that admission of evidence from the initial theft of the card was not clear error, and that special probation Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Peter Graham In Collins v. State, 494 P.3d 60 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals held that the 2013 session law amending the provisions of AS 12.55.125 to establish significantly higher presumptive sentencing ranges for offenders convicted of sexual felonies was a clarification rather than a modification of the statute; therefore, Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Melissa Gustafson In C.L. v. OPA, 500 P.3d 995 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Alaska Rules of Professional Conduct are used to determine whether a guardian ad litem (GAL) has a disqualifying conflict of interest and the superior court must permit limited discovery for determining if a disqualifying conflict exists. Continue Reading »
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 »
