CRIMINAL LAWCourt of Appeals of Alaska (2022)Sam MacDuffieIn Skupa v. State, 520 P.3d 1184 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court held that restitution may beimposed by a court upon a preponderance of the evidence and need not be found by a jury beyonda reasonable doubt. (Id. at 1191). Skupa was a criminal defendant charged with Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW / CRIMINAL PROCEDURECourt of Appeals of Alaska (2022)Joseph PerryIn Perez v. State, 521 P.3d 592 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court of appeals held that a trial courthas an affirmative duty to act when it becomes clear that a criminal defendant has not been assignedan attorney, but that a defendant may consent to Continue Reading »
CIVIL PROCEDUREUnited States District Court, District of AlaskaScott AndersonIn National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh v. Aspen Custom Trailers, Inc., 587 F.Supp.3d904 (D. Alaska 2022), the district court held that a non–Alaska company cannot be sued in anAlaska court when its only connection to the state is a contract with an Alaska company that Continue Reading »
CONSTITUTIONAL LAWCourt of Appeals of Alaska (2022)Connor SakatiIn State v. Jouppi., 519 P.3d 653 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court of appeals held that, todetermine if a forfeiture in a criminal case is unconstitutionally excessive, courts must considerhow harsh the legislature intended to make the crime’s punishment, whether the defendant’sconduct was part of a broader Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Anighya CrockerIn Nordlund v. State, Department of Corrections, 520 P.3d 1178 (Alaska 2022), the supreme courtheld that disciplinary decisions by the Department of Corrections will not be set aside unless theprisoner can show that his procedural due process rights were prejudiced by the proceedingsagainst him. (Id. at 1180). A prisoner Continue Reading »
ENVIRONMENTAL LAWUnited States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (2022)Kristiana OlsonIn Safari Club International v. Haaland, 31 F.4th 1157 (9th Cir. 2022), the court held that theAlaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) preserves the federal government’sauthority over Alaska’s public lands. (Id. at 1165). In 2013, Alaska expanded access to brown bearhunting. (Id. at 1166). The Continue Reading »
CONSTITUTIONAL LAWUnited States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (2022)Sarah CouillardIn United States v. Wells, 55 F.4th 784 (9th Cir. 2022), the Ninth Circuit held that a Coast Guardemployee was not implicitly coerced by threat of loss of employment to make self–incriminatorystatements in a manner that would have violated the Fifth Amendment. (Id. at 788, 799). Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Alex BartlowIn State, Office of the Lieutenant Governor v. Corbisier, 522 P.3d 174 (Alaska 2022), the supremecourt reversed the lower court’s grant of a preliminary injunction preventing the Alaska Divisionof Elections from certifying election results, holding that the lower court erred in failing to considerthe general public’s interest in an Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAWSupreme Court of Alaska (2022)Kristiana OlsonIn Daum v. Daum, 518 P.3d 718 (Alaska 2022), the supreme court held that the superior court hadjurisdiction and authority to award support for an adult child covering the entirety of the child’sliving expenses. (Id. at 720). After a father filed for divorce following years of separation, themother counterclaimed Continue Reading »
INSURANCE LAWUnited States District Court, District of Alaska (2022)Joseph PerryIn Estate of Wheeler v. Garrison Property & Casualty Insurance Co., 604 F. Supp. 3d 844 (D.Alaska 2022), the court held that pollution exclusion clauses of homeowner insurance policies aresubject to literal interpretation. (Id. at 850–51). In 2019, while at a vacation rental property, acouple’s son Continue Reading »
