CRIMINAL LAW Court of Appeals of Alaska (2023) Shaun Thompson In Clayton v. State, 535 P.3d 909 (Alaska Ct. App. 2023), the court of appeals held that erroneous statements comprising only a small part of an expert’s testimony did not render a trial fundamentally unfair in violation of due process. (Id. at 920). In 1987, Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Catherine Cole In Taryn M. v. Department of Family & Community Services, Office of Children’s Services, 529 P.3d 523 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held that (1) under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) must prove a caretaker’s unsuitability by clear and Continue Reading »
GOVERNMENT Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Kubi Johnson In Pruitt v. State, 526 P.3d 136 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held Pruitt asserted nonfrivolous constitutional claims and remanded for further proceedings on whether sanctions are proper. Lance Pruitt lost a close election to Elizabeth Snyder. (Id. at 138). Pruitt sued the State alleging it failed Continue Reading »
TRUSTS & ESTATES LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Justin T. Reed In Matter of Estate of Evensen, 531 P.3d 969 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held that if the original of a will document cannot be found, there is a rebuttable presumption that the testator revoked it. (Id. at 978). In 1994, Evensen drafted Continue Reading »
CIVIL PROCEDURE Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Hannah Berg In Bragg v. Teslow, 533 P.3d 533 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held that an award of full attorneys’ fees is appropriate only where a claim or motion is “collectively or individually so lacking in merit that it is permissible to infer that [the non-prevailing party] Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Cara Shanahan In Vang v. Pa, 531 P.3d 979 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held that money transfers are not presumptively treated as gifts between parties who are not legally married and do not establish a domestic partnership at trial. (Id. at 984). Tong Vang and Pa Kou Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Court of Appeals of Alaska (2023) Sammy Sawyer In Tommy v. State, 531 P.3d 365 (Alaska Ct. App. 2023), the court of appeals held that the requirement that a defendant must provide express consent for magistrate judges to preside over misdemeanor criminal cases is not waived by defense counsel not raising the issue Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Court of Appeals of Alaska (2023) Johanna Crisman In Morrissette v. State, 524 P.3d 803 (Alaska Ct. App. 2023), the court of appeals held the State met its burden to reach a first-degree murder conviction of Morrissette and that the sentence was reasonable given the record. (Id. at 808). Morrissette was convicted of Continue Reading »
CIVIL PROCEDURE United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Steve Stenquist In Department of Fish and Game v. Federal Subsistence Board, 62 F.4th 1177 (4th Cir. 2023), the court of appeals held that a dispute is not moot if the basis for the dispute ends before the dispute can be fully litigated and said basis Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2023) Kubi Johnson In Christy v. Conrad, 524 P.3d 231 (Alaska 2023), the supreme court held parents can cut off contact between their children and the children’s grandparents, despite a positive grandparent-child relationship, if the grandparents are unable to show with clear and convincing evidence that ending visitation is Continue Reading »
