CRIMINAL LAW Sloane Bessey In Matter of Mark V., 501 P.3d 228 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held that that for a less restrictive analysis in a commitment proceeding only options available at the time need to be considered and not all of the factors supporting a finding that a patient lacks competence to consent Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Peter Graham In Linden v. Municipality of Anchorage, 501 P.3d 238 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals held that the crimes of assault and of family violence do not constitute the same offense for purposes of double jeopardy when a single act produces two crimes suffered by separate victims. (Id. at 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 »
CRIMINAL LAW Peter Graham In Perozzo v. State, 493 P.3d 233 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals held that the state constitution prohibits officers from requesting a passenger’s identification and then using that identification to run a warrants check when the officer’s request is unrelated to the basis for the stop, and the Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Mary Beth Barksdale In Watson v. State, 487 P.3d 568 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court upheld Alaska Statute 47.12.030 as constitutional under the Alaska Constitution’s equal protection clause. (Id. at 570). The defendant was a minor convicted on two counts of misdemeanor DUI. (Id.). On appeal, the defendant argued that the criminal statute, Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Daniel Clark In King v. State, 487 P.3d 242 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that sufficient factual findings may support multiple convictions for the same criminal charges without comprising the “same offense” for double jeopardy purposes, so long as the individual convictions relate to independent events occurring at different Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Melissa Gustafson In Maves v. State, Department of Public Safety, 479 P.3d 399 (Alaska 2021), the supreme court held sexual assault convictions set aside by courts before the 1999 amendment to the Alaska Sex Offenders Registration Act (ASORA) do not constitute “convictions” as outlined in the statute. (Id. at 402). In 1997, Maves Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Clara Nieman In Lord v. State, 489 P.3d 374 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that Alaska’s “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI) statutes did not violate equal protection of GBMI defendants by denying them the same treatment given to defendants found not guilty by reason of insanity, and that a Continue Reading »
CRIMINAL LAW Maddie Ayer In Ledbetter v. State, 482 P.3d 1033 (Alaska Ct. App. 2021), the court of appeals held that a prosecutor’s repeated erroneous characterizations of the law of self-defense during closing argument, combined with other inflammatory and prejudicial remarks, amounted to plain error, requiring reversal of the defendant’s conviction. (Id. at 1037). Ledbetter Continue Reading »
