Alaska Criminal Code Revision: Preliminary Report
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Alaska Statutescriminal code revision
criminal justice reform
criminal law
law
legislation
property crime
sentencing
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JC 7713.01Abstract
The Alaska Criminal Code Revision Commission was established in 1975 with the responsibility to present a comprehensive revision of Alaska’s criminal code for consideration by the Alaska State Legislature. This preliminary report consider the need for a revised criminal code in Alaska and presents proposed drafts, with commentary, of statutes on property-related crimes, general criminal code provisions, and sentencing. A specific recommendation is made to continue the Criminal Code Revision Commission or reconstitute it through formal legislative action in order to provide sufficient time for the complex work needed to revise the criminal code.Description
As of 1975, Alaska’s criminal laws were based primarily on Oregon criminal statutes as they existed at the close of the nineteenth century, with new statutes added and old statutes amended over the succeeding 75 years by Alaska territorial and state legislatures in a piecemeal approach to revision. This resulted in a criminal code containing outdated statutes, obsolete terminology, a number of overly specific statutes, a haphazard approach to mens rea (the culpable mental state with which a defendant must perform an act in order to be convicted of a crime) and the lack of a coherent, rational sentencing structure. The Alaska Criminal Code Revision Commission was established in 1975 with the responsibility to present a comprehensive revision of Alaska’s criminal code for consideration by the Alaska State Legislature. (The Commission was reestablished in June 1976 as a Subcommission of the newly formed Code Commission.) Staff services for the Criminal Code Revision Commission and Criminal Code Revision Subcommission were provided by the Criminal Justice Center at University of Alaska, Anchorage (John Havelock, project executive director; Barry Jeffrey Stern, reporter/staff counsel; Sheila Gallagher, Reporter/Staff Counsel; and Peter Smith Ring, research director). The tentative draft proposed by the Criminal Code Revision Subcommission was substantially amended by the Alaska State Legislature prior to its approval as the Revised Alaska Criminal Code in June 1978 (effective January 1, 1980).Table of Contents
Preface: Organization of the Commission // INTRODUCTION / I. Why a Criminal Code Revision? / II. The Work of the Commission / III. Findings and Recommendations // PROPOSED DRAFTS / I. Property Related Crimes / II. General Provisions / III. Sentencing Structure / IV. Proposed draft act for an Alaska Criminal Code Revision Commission // APPENDICES / Statutory Maximum and Minimum Felony Penalties as Designated by the Criminal Code (Effective in 1973) / Criminal Provisions of the Alaska Statutes — Titles 1-16 / Criminal Provisions of the Alaska Statutes — Titles 17-30 / Proposed Budget (summary) / Work Schedule for a Revised Criminal CodeDate
1976-01Publisher
Alaska Criminal Code Revision CommissionType
ReportCitation
Alaska Criminal Code Revision Commission. (1976). Alaska Criminal Code Revision: Preliminary Report. Anchorage, AK: Alaska Criminal Code Revision Commission.Collections
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Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 8 (December 1977)The December 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum profiles the first Criminal Justice Center student to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Justice. Other articles describe the provisions of the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code involving robbery, armed robbery, and accomplice liability; and examines how government systems can be designed to reduce opportunity for public misconduct. Also included are a digest of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions, the Spring 1978 semester schedule of Justice B.A. courses at University of Alaska campuses in Anchorage and Fairbanks, and a justice training calendar.
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Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 1, No. 7 (November 1977)A $183,000 LEAA grant will enable the Alaska Division of Corrections to develop a correctional master plan for improving the statewide correctional system; and the staff counsel of the Alaska Criminal Code Revision Subcommission describes the circumstances in which the use of force, or threat to use force, is justifiable and not a criminal offense under the proposed Revised Alaska Criminal Code. Other articles in the November 1977 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum examines the North Slope Borough Department of Public Safety's initiation in January 1977 of apprehension and short-term detention of intoxicated persons; and highlights the Alaska Supreme Court's concern with the effect of mounting caseloads. Also included are a digest of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions, announcements of upcoming conferences and seminars, and a justice training calendar.
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Alaska Justice Forum ; Vol. 2, No. 6 (July 1978)In the July 1978 issue of the Alaska Justice Forum, the staff counsel of the Alaska Criminal Code Revision Subcommission describes the major provisions of the Revised Alaska Criminal Code as approved by the Alaska Legislature in June 1978, and highlights changes from the draft revised code proposed by the subcommission. The Anchorage Pretrial Intervention Project, which became operational in early 1978, is described. An offender reentry program of the Alaska Division of Corrections to help ex-offenders adjust to life after prison is described. The concluding installment of a six-part series on the law of confessions discusses the use of evidence obtained from defendants which is inadmissible under Miranda guidelines or for other reasons related to violation of defendants' Fifth or Sixth Amendment rights. Additional articles discuss a national survey indicating the need for sex offender treatment programs and a report on more efficient police patrol procedures. Also included are digests of recent Alaska Supreme Court opinions and points brought up in criminal appeals cases, announcements of upcoming courses and seminars, and a justice training calendar.
