In Taffe v. First National Bank of Alaska,[1] the supreme court held the statute of limitations for a misrepresentation begins to run when the plaintiffs should reasonably have discovered an appreciable injury from the misrepresentation. Taffe and Lehner borrowed money in the form of two loans from First National Bank of Alaska in 2006 to Continue Reading »
In Torgerson v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that a judicial officer must assess a defendant’s conditions of relief at a first bail review hearing. Torgerson was charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the district court. The judge imposed non-monetary conditions agreed to by the parties, but also set a higher monetary Continue Reading »
In Wahl v. State,[1] the supreme court held that the former-testimony exception to the hearsay rule does not require the opposing party to have had an identical motive to develop the testimony during the previous proceeding; it further held that the superior court did not abuse its discretion in ruling that Wahl did not used Continue Reading »
In Williams v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that it was not plain error for the trial judge to give a jury instruction that did not require factual unanimity on the specific way in which Williams violated a protective order. Williams was convicted of two counts of violating protective orders that prohibited her from Continue Reading »
In Amy S. v. State,[1] the supreme court held that when a party’s due process rights are violated, a failure by that party to make a plausible claim of prejudice resulting from that violation requires a finding of harmless error. The Department of Health and Social Services, Office of Children’s Services (OCS) filed an emergency Continue Reading »
In Club SinRock, LLC v. Municipality of Anchorage,[1] the supreme court held that a municipal closing-hours restriction applies to adult cabarets, but, under strict scrutiny, violates the Alaska Constitution’s free speech clause. Although a municipal ordinance required adult-oriented establishments to be closed between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m., Club SinRock, an adult cabaret featuring nude Continue Reading »
In Ebli v. State,[1] the supreme court affirmed a lower court’s decision to dismiss an incarcerated individual’s complaint that a restriction placed on his visitation rights by the Department of Corrections (DOC) violated his constitutional right to rehabilitation. While incarcerated, Keilan Ebli began a romantic relationship with a DOC substance abuse counselor, which continued even Continue Reading »
In Pohland v. State,[1] the court of appeals held the general search of an individual’s laptop to be unconstitutional when conducted under a warrant authorizing the search of another individual’s digital records related to that second individual’s suspected crimes. Alaska state troopers investigating McRoberts obtained a search warrant authorizing search and seizure of all digital Continue Reading »
In State v. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest,[1] the Alaska Supreme Court held that AS 47.07.068 (the statute) and Alaska Administrative Code Title 7 § 160.900(d)(30) (the regulation) violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Alaska Constitution by restricting Medicaid funding of abortions with insufficiently narrow tailoring. In 2013, the Alaska Department of Health Continue Reading »
In Markham v. Kodiak Island Borough Board of Equalization,[1] the supreme court held the eligibility requirements for a senior citizen property tax exemption did not violate equal protection. Markham applied for a senior citizen tax exemption on his property in Kodiak, and the assessor denied his applications due to prolonged absences. The Borough Board of Continue Reading »
