PROPERTY LAW Angela Sbano In Seater v. Estate of Seater, the Alaska Supreme Court held that a superior court judge misinterpreted a different superior court judge’s decision when she stated that it required a property owner to remove all boulders he had placed on his property below the “extreme high water line” rather than the Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Jacob Keohane Continue Reading »
PROPERTY LAW Melissa English In Anderson v. Alaska Housing Finance Corp., the supreme court held that a foreclosure was a deprivation of the borrower’s property, and that the borrower therefore constitutionally entitled to a pre-deprivation opportunity to be heard. The borrower borrowed from Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. to purchase a home, which then assigned the Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Christopher Dodd In Cora G. v. State, Department of Health & Social Services, the supreme court held that in child in need of aid (CINA) matters, an expert witness providing a statutorily-required opinion must be offered and affirmatively accepted as a qualified expert witness. The Office of Child Services (OCS) petitioned to terminate Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Macklin Willigan In Vogus v. Vogus, the supreme court held that when a superior court imputes income to an obligor parent, the court may base its calculation on either (1) concrete evidence of the obligor’s historical earnings—unless the obligor demonstrates that she is unable to achieve similar income—or (2) its specific findings of Continue Reading »
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Savannah Artusi In Basey v. State, Department of Public Safety, the supreme court held that state employee disciplinary records are confidential and thus exempt from disclosure under the Alaska Public Records Act. After being convicted of federal crimes, Basey requested records related to his investigation, including disciplinary records for two Alaska State Troopers. Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Matthew Naiman In Kangas v. State, the court of appeals held that judges may instruct a jury that mental state may be inferred from circumstantial evidence. A jury convicted Kangas to two 99-year consecutive sentences for the intentional killing of two state troopers whom he knew to be acting in performance of their Continue Reading »
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW Kate Goldberg In Antenor v. State, Department of Corrections, the supreme court held that denying an inmate access to a computer programing book based on security reasons did not violate the Alaska Constitution’s free speech provision or the constitutional right to reformation. In 2017, inmate Antenor attempted to order a computer programming book Continue Reading »
ETHICS Kristen M. Renberg, PhD In In re Brion, the supreme court held that the current procedures for disciplinary and reinstatement hearings for disbarred attorneys do not violate their due process rights. In 2009, a Hearing Committee found that Brion had violated his duties of diligence, communication, and handling client funds, and recommended disbarment. In Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW Natalie Howard In Angelica C. v. Jonathan C., the supreme court held it was legal error to ignore the father’s sexual abuse of the mother when analyzing factors to determine best interests of the child in awarding custody. Jonathan pleaded guilty to attempted sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree after Continue Reading »
