CRIMINAL LAW Clara Nieman In Lord v. State, 489 P.3d 374 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that Alaska’s “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI) statutes did not violate equal protection of GBMI defendants by denying them the same treatment given to defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity, and that a Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Adam Beyer In Jordan v. Jordan, 480 P.3d 626 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a lower court acted in error when it provided a “dollar for dollar” adjustment in a divorce asset distribution for non-divisible property instead of evaluating the financial condition of the parties holistically. (Id. at 638). During divorce Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Maddie Ayer In Ledbetter v. State, 482 P.3d 1033 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that a prosecutor’s repeated erroneous characterizations of the law of self-defense during closing argument, combined with other inflammatory and prejudicial remarks, amounted to plain error, requiring reversal of the defendant’s conviction. (Id. at 1037). Ledbetter Continue Reading »
BUSINESS LAW Hannah Rogers In Cook v. Quashnick, 484 P.3d 1026 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 82, rather than the attorney’s fees provision of Alaska’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Act (UTPA), applied to determine the proper fee award in an offer of judgment to settle a case Continue Reading »
ELECTION LAW Clara Nieman In Alaska Public Offices Commission v. Not Tammie, 482 P.3d 386 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that (1) the governor must explicitly, not implicitly, assign Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) hearing officers, and (2) the governor-appointed hearing officer may be an agency employee or commissioner. (Id. at 388–89). During an Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Margot Graham In Bragaw v. State, 482 P.3d 1023 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that trial courts must consider the validity of drug recognition evaluation (DRE) evidence under the Daubert standard for admissibility. (Id. at 1032). Bragaw was arrested for driving under the influence and completed a DRE, which Continue Reading »
HEALTH LAW Peter Graham In Bohn v. Providence Health Services – Washington, 484 P.3d 584 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a healthcare provider was not immunized under Alaska’s Health Care Decisions Act (HCDA) when the provider denied decisionmaking authority to a patient’s agent and surrogate under the good faith belief that the patient’s Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Hannah Rogers In Aubert v. Wilson, 483 P.3d 179 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the superior court did not abuse its discretion in awarding a disproportionately high share of the marital estate to one spouse when the other spouse died after the divorce decree but before the distribution of marital property. Continue Reading »
NATIVE LAW, FAMILY LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Clark J. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services, Office of Children’s Services, 483 P.3d 896 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court reversed the Superior Court’s termination of parental rights, finding clear error where the Office of Children’s Services (OCS) had failed to make active efforts to Continue Reading »
EMPLOYMENT LAW Hannah Rogers In Buntin v. Schlumberger Technology Corp., 487 P.3d 595 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that an employer is required to prove an exemption to the overtime provisions of the Alaska Wage and Hour Act (AWHA) by preponderance of the evidence and that the court must give AWHA exemptions a fair Continue Reading »
