CONSTITUTIONAL LAW & CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Court of Appeals of Alaska (2022) Alex Bartlow In Gomez v. State, 516 P.3d 879 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court of appeals held that (1) statements made by a victim during the initial portion of a 911 call were not testimonial in nature, so their admission at trial did Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Scott Anderson In Sockpick v. Magby, 2022 WL 2825388 (Alaska 2022) (unpublished), the supreme court held that a release of liability in a settlement agreement cannot be a defense to a lawsuit when a court has previously struck down that portion of the settlement agreement. (Id. at 4). Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Sarah Couillard In Sternquist v. Sternquist, No. S-17594, 2022 WL 2137285 (Alaska June 15, 2022) (unpublished), the supreme court held that a version of a settlement agreement between a divorcing couple that was drafted by the husband and adopted by the court did not reflect the couple’s actual Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Court of Appeals of Alaska (2022) Sarah Brooks In Foy v. State, 515 P.3d 659 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court of appeals held that a defendant cannot raise a claim of prosecutorial vindictiveness after entering a guilty plea, unless the vindictiveness of the prosecution was apparent on the record at the time Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Court of Appeals of Alaska (2022) Sam MacDuffie In McGraw v. State, 512 P.3d 994 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court of appeals held that when analyzing the validity of search under the probation search exception, a court may only consider information known to the probation officer at the time he or she Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Robert Bulka In Womack v. Jones, 2022 WL 1565679 (Alaska May 18, 2022), reh’g denied (June 23, 2022) (unpublished), the supreme court affirmed the superior court’s interpretation of a settlement agreement in a divorce decree dividing the profits of the sale of the marital home based on cost-of-sale, Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Court of Appeals of Alaska (2022) Rachel Reiss In Whisenhunt v. State, 504 P.3d 268 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the court of appeals held that its standard for remanding a case to a trial court to reconsider a criminal defendant’s motion for a new trial was not a new rule. (Id. at 270). Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Kristiana Olson In Ariel P. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services, 2022 WL 2093357 (Alaska 2022) (unpublished), the supreme court held that a court may consider the potential permanency of a child’s foster placement when conducting a best interests assessment. (Id. at *1). The Office of Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW / HEALTH LAW Supreme Court of Alaska (2022) Joseph Perry In Matter of A.S., 2022 WL 2965545 (Alaska 2022) (unpublished), the supreme court held that the testimony of a psychiatrist concerning a criminal defendant’s previous acts of violence and psychotic disorder provided adequate evidence that the defendant posed a harm to themselves or Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Court of Appeals of Alaska (2022) Jake Sherman In Riley v. State, 515 P.3d 1259 (Alaska Ct. App. 2022), the Alaska Court of Appeals held that the superior court prejudiced a criminal defendant by modifying its jury instructions after closing arguments without a compelling reason, after the defendant had relied on the prior Continue Reading »
