In McDaniels v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that when determining if the government had good cause to deny a probationer’s right to confront adverse witnesses against him, courts should weigh the probationer’s interest in confrontation against the government’s good cause for denying it. At Norman McDaniels’ parole revocation hearing, a police officer testified Continue Reading »
In Nelson v. State,[1] the supreme court held that a public defender has a conflict of interest disqualifying him from representation when the petitioner raises a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel against another public defender in the same office, and held that a defendant is entitled to conflict counsel immediately after raising such a Continue Reading »
In Ray v. State,[1] the court of appeals 1) affirmed the superior court’s decision to revoke defendant’s probation, 2) held that criminal defendants do not have a constitutional right to refuse further probation, and 3) certified to the supreme court the question of whether criminal defendants have a statutory right to refuse further probation under Continue Reading »
In Redding v. State,[1] the court of appeals upheld the state’s concession that the jury instruction regarding the burden of proof was error. Redding was charged with second degree vehicle theft and argued a defense of necessity. The trial court instructed the jury that Redding had the burden to prove this defense by a preponderance Continue Reading »
In Robbins v. State,[1] the appeals court held that where a testifying toxicologist personally reviewed, agreed with, certified, and was authorized to perform the kind of test that yielded results at issue, his testimony about those results did not violate the defendant’s confrontation right. After a visibly impaired driver tested negative for alcohol in a Continue Reading »
In State v. Carlson,[1] the court of appeals held that in order to prevail on a post-conviction claim based on an attorney’s conflict of interest, the defendant must show that his attorney had (1) loyalty to someone else, or a personal interest, that conflicted with defendant’s interests, and (2) the conflict negatively impacted the attorney’s Continue Reading »
In State v. Mayfield,[1] the court of appeals affirmed a decision to grant the defendant’s motion to dismiss a charge of attempted second-degree sexual assault on the grounds that the state had failed to prove intent to use or threaten force to achieve sexual contact. While at a movie, twenty-one-year-old Thomas Mayfield touched a fourteen-year-old Continue Reading »
In State v. Thompson,[1] the supreme court held that in sexual abuse and assault cases, distinct acts of penetration may support separate convictions when the penetrating body part or object changes, or when the penetrated orifice changes. Thompson was convicted of multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor. The court of appeals merged separate Continue Reading »
In State v. Tofelogo,[1] the supreme court held that the domestic violence aggravating factor has broad applicability in determining the sentencing of a guilty individual. Teila Tofelogo accidentally stabbed his sober living group home roommate, Dennis Fathke, after horse-playing with a knife. Tofelogo pled guilty to negligent homicide and stipulated to the applicability of the Continue Reading »
In Swartz v. Municipality of Anchorage,[1] the court of appeals held that the district court erred in imposing jail time for an offender’s uncompleted hours of community work service. Swartz pled guilty to driving with her license suspended or revoked. Her sentence included eighty hours of mandatory community work service to be completed within six Continue Reading »
