In Doe v. State, Department of Public Safety,[1] the supreme court held that part of Alaska’s sex offender registration law unconstitutionally violated an offender’s due process right to privacy by not providing the offender the opportunity to prove that they are not likely to re-offend and should no longer be required to register. Doe moved Continue Reading »
In Dulier v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that there was sufficient evidence for a jury to find that a flare gun fired at the victim by the defendant was a dangerous instrument capable of causing death or serious physical injury. After an altercation, defendant Dulier pressed a flare gun into the victim’s neck Continue Reading »
In Fedolfi v. State,[1] the supreme court ruled a police officer’s convictions for attempted third-degree sexual assault and official misconduct were the same offense for double jeopardy purposes. The police officer offered to drive a drunk woman home, but instead he drove her to another location, exposed himself to her, and tried to sexually assault Continue Reading »
In Fox v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that a criminal defendant is not entitled to credit against his sentence for voluntary placement at a community residential center. Fox appealed from a superior court decision upholding the Alaska Parole Board’s decision to deny credit against his sentence for time spent in a community residential Continue Reading »
In Graham v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that a drunk driver’s sentence may have been driven by principles of retribution and that the trial court had erred in its determination of the proper sentencing benchmark, its conclusion on aggravating factors, and its interpretation of the proper basis of the community condemnation standard. The Continue Reading »
In Hall v. State,[1] the appellate court held that due process prohibits application of a statutory bar on successive petitions when a defendant is raising a post-conviction relief claim based on newly discovered evidence of innocence that was not previously available to the defendant. Defendant Brian Hall was convicted in 1993 of first- and second- Continue Reading »
In Jones-Nelson v. State,[1] the supreme court ruled the defendant is not required to introduce evidence of each element of self-defense before the defendant can introduce evidence of the victim’s prior acts of and reputation for violence. The defendant and the victim were attending the same party, and they got into an argument after the Continue Reading »
In Kasgnoc v. State,[1] the court of appeals found that the trial court had erred in admitting evidence of a prior sexual assault under the consent defense exemption outlined in Alaska Evidence Rule 404(b)(3), but affirmed the admission under Alaska Evidence Rule 404(b)(4) on the grounds that both the current and previous conduct qualified as Continue Reading »
In Kinmon v. State,[1] the court of appeals held that a district court has a duty to resolve disputed questions of law related to statutory interpretation and to instruct the jury as to the proper interpretation at issue. Kinmon was a licensed big game guide and tag vendor. On two alleged occasions, Kinmon led hunts Continue Reading »
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 »
