CRIMINAL JUSTICE Kristen M. Renberg, PhD Chinuhuk v. State In Chinuhuk v. State, 472 P.3d 511 (Alaska 2020), the supreme court held that trial courts do not have the discretion to reduce probation if an offender was previously sentenced to the statutory minimum period of probation because the legislature intended for a sex offender’s Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL PROCEDURE Kate Goldberg Chilcote v. State In Chilcote v. State, 471 P.3d 599 (Alaska Ct. App. 2020), the court of appeals held that neither Virginia’s two-tiered adjudicated system, nor the failure to advise a defendant of their right to a jury trial, violates a defendant’s fundamental rights in terms negating a “prior conviction” Continue Reading »
COMMERCIAL LAW Melissa English Beardsley v. Robert N. Jacobsen & Darlene F. Jacobsen Living Trust In Beardsley v. Robert N. Jacobsen & Darlene F. Jacobsen Living Trust, 472 P.3d 500 (Alaska 2020), the supreme court held that a genuine dispute existed over whether a purchaser personally guaranteed the obligations of a bankrupt entity because Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL JUSTICE Mike Keramidas Akelkok v. State In Akelkok v. State, 475 P.3d 1136 (Alaska Ct. App. 2020), the court of appeals held that the trial court did not violate Charles Akelkok’s due process rights through its efforts to have Annie Sergie testify. (Id. at 1142). Akelkok was convicted of third-degree assault for attacking Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL JUSTICE Mike Keramidas Ahvakana v. State In Ahvakana v. State, 475 P.3d 1118 (Alaska Ct. App. 2020), the court of appeals held that Ahvakana’s attorney provided him incompetent advice and remanded the case to determine if the advice prejudiced Ahvakana. (Id at 1124, 1126). Ahvakana was indicted with, inter alia, first-degree assault and Continue Reading »
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW Mike Keramidas West v. Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority In West v. Alaska Mental Health Tr. Auth., 467 P.3d 1064 (Alaska 2020), the supreme court held that the Land Office of the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority acted in the Trust’s best interest when it sold five lots of land. (Id. at Continue Reading »
TORT LAW Andrew Webb Sampson v. Alaskan Airlines, Inc. In Sampson v. Alaskan Airlines, Inc., 467 P.3d 1072 (Alaska 2020), the supreme court held that a special verdict form requiring proof by a “reasonable degree of certainty,” instead of the correct standard of “reasonably probable,” did not constitute plain error. (Id. at 1075). After Sampson Continue Reading »
FAMILY LAW / NATIVE LAW Jacob Keohane Matter of April S. In the Matter of April S., 467 P.3d 1091 (Alaska, 2020), the supreme court ruled that an out-of-state mental health professional qualified as an expert under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), given the severity of the child’s psychiatric conditions. The ICWA requires Continue Reading »
EMPLOYMENT LAW Christopher Dodd James v. Alaska Frontier Constructors, Inc. In James v. Alaska Frontier Constructors, Inc., 468 P.3d 711 (Alaska 2020), the supreme court held that there was insufficient evidence to determine corporate relationships between three companies, and it was therefore inappropriate to grant summary judgement based on immunity under the Alaska Workers’ Continue Reading »
HEALTH Savannah Artusi In re Necessity for the Hospitalization of Rabi R. In In re Necessity for the Hospitalization of Rabi R., 468 P.3d 721 (Alaska 2020), the supreme court held that the lower court’s failure to order a screening investigation upon receipt of a petition for involuntary detention for psychiatric evaluation was harmless Continue Reading »
