PROPERTY LAW Hannah Rogers In Happy Farmer v. Alaska State Fair, 497 P.3d 568 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a vendor’s entry into agreement with a fair organizer for use of a merchandise booth inside a fairground building did not create a constructive bailment or a bailment implied by fact that would impose Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Melissa Gustafson In Geisinger v. State, 498 P.3d 92 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that the defendant was not entitled to post-conviction relief for convictions and sentencing related to manslaughter, first-degree assault, driving under the influence, leaving the scene of an injury accident, and second-degree forgery. (Id. at 95–96). Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Sloane Bessey In Galindo v. State, 481 P.3d 686 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court held that Special Conditions of Probation need to be supported by the record and if there are less restrictive alternatives those should be considered by the trial court. (Id. at 690–94). Galindo was convicted of first-degree sexual assault Continue Reading »
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Megan Mason Dister In French v. Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, 498 P.3d 1026 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) has jurisdiction over determining if a gas leak is waste and the AOGCC’s hearings must be supported by substantial evidence. (Id. at 1028). Continue Reading »
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Emma Giusto In Dunleavy v. Alaska Legislative Council, 498 P.3d 608 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that Alaska Statute § 39.05.080(3) and House Bill 309, both of which provided that legislative inaction on the Governor’s appointments was akin to a rejection, were unconstitutional. (Id. at 612–13). In 2020, Governor Dunleavy provided over Continue Reading »
ETHICS Sasha Kahn In Disciplinary Matter Involving Chaobal, 498 P.3d 617 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a thirty-month suspension, with two years and one day to be served, is an appropriate sanction for an attorney’s misconduct when the attorney in separate cases has knowingly failed to follow nine different state ethics rules. (Id. Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Melissa Gustafson In Cynthia W. v. Department of Health & Social Services, 497 P.3d 981 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that Alaska’s child-in-need-of-aid (CINA) laws for determining if a child is at substantial risk of sexual abuse do not require the superior court to distinguish a sexual abuse indictment from a conviction Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Sasha Kahn In Compton v. State, 485 P.3d 56 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that a trial judge’s ruling that parties could not play recordings of conversations for the jury unless the witness who made the statement denied having made that statement was in violation Rule 613(b) of the Continue Reading »
PROPERTY LAW Sloane Bessey Dickson, Trustee of Kelly A. Dickson 2008 Trust v. State In Dickson, Trustee of Kelly A. Dickson 2008 Trust v. State, 487 P.3d 584 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that the superior court did not abuse its discretion when it decided to uphold an unusually large attorney’s fee award after Continue Reading »
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW, CIVIL PROCEDURE Adam Beyer In Exxon Mobil Corporation v. Department of Revenue, 488 P.3d 951 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that a Department of Revenue advisory bulletin was not a challengeable regulation for the purposes of the state’s Administrative Procedures Act and that the parties’ tax dispute was therefore not ripe. (Id. Continue Reading »
