SB 15: "An Act relating to a petition to convene a grand jury; and repealing and reenacting Rule 16(b)(3), Alaska Rules of Criminal Procedure, concerning a prosecuting attorney's duty to disclose favorable information to a defendant in a criminal proceeding."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 15 01 "An Act relating to a petition to convene a grand jury; and repealing and reenacting 02 Rule 16(b)(3), Alaska Rules of Criminal Procedure, concerning a prosecuting attorney's 03 duty to disclose favorable information to a defendant in a criminal proceeding." 04 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 * Section 1. AS 12.40 is amended by adding a new section to read: 06 Sec. 12.40.120. Petition to convene a grand jury. (a) A person may petition 07 to convene a grand jury for the purpose of investigating a matter that, if true, would 08 warrant a true bill of indictment as provided in this section. 09 (b) Before circulating a petition under this section, the petitioner shall file a 10 copy of the petition with the clerk of court of the judicial district in which the matter is 11 alleged to have occurred. The clerk shall deliver the petition to the presiding judge of 12 the judicial district. 13 (c) Not later than four business days after the petition is filed with the court, 14 the presiding judge of the judicial district shall enter an order stating whether the
01 petition on its face identifies with reasonable specificity areas to be investigated and 02 sufficient general allegations to warrant a finding that an investigation may lead to 03 information that, if true, would warrant a true bill of indictment. 04 (d) If the judge finds a petition is deficient under (c) of this section, the judge 05 shall issue a written order setting out each deficiency. Not later than two business days 06 after the order finding the petition deficient is entered, the petitioner may file an 07 amended petition. Not later than two business days after the amended petition is filed 08 with the court, the judge shall issue an order stating whether the amended petition 09 meets the requirements of (c) of this section. 10 (e) A petitioner may not circulate a petition without a court order stating that 11 the petition is sufficient under (c) of this section. 12 (f) If the judge issues an order finding a petition sufficient under (c) of this 13 section, the petitioner shall, not later than 45 days after the court enters the order, file 14 the completed petition containing not fewer than 500 signatures of voters registered in 15 the judicial district with the division of elections. The division of elections shall, not 16 later than seven business days after receiving the petition, submit the original petition 17 and a certification of the number of signatures of registered voters to the clerk of court 18 of the judicial district of the presiding superior court judge who issued the order 19 concerning the petition. The clerk shall deliver the petition and signature certification 20 to the presiding superior court judge. 21 (g) An individual who signs a petition to convene a grand jury may file a 22 request to remove the individual's name from the petition at any time before the 23 division of elections certifies the number of signatures on the petition under (f) of this 24 section. 25 (h) If the division of elections certifies that the petition contains the required 26 signatures, the presiding superior court judge of the judicial district shall, not later than 27 30 calendar days after the date the certification is received by the clerk from the 28 division of elections, convene a grand jury. 29 (i) An individual is guilty of a class B misdemeanor punishable under 30 AS 12.55 if the individual knowingly 31 (1) offers money, a gratuity, a prize, or any other thing of value to
01 induce another individual to sign or to remove a name from a petition to convene a 02 grand jury; or 03 (2) makes a false statement to induce another individual to sign or to 04 remove a name from a petition to convene a grand jury. 05 (j) In this section, "knowingly" has the meaning given in AS 11.81.900. 06 * Sec. 2. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 07 read: 08 DIRECT COURT RULE AMENDMENT. Rule 16(b)(3), Alaska Rules of 09 Criminal Procedure, is repealed and reenacted to read: 10 (3) Prosecuting Attorney's Duty to Disclose Favorable Information to 11 Defense Counsel. 12 (A) Material and Information Within the Prosecuting 13 Attorney's Possession, Custody, or Control. The prosecuting attorney shall 14 disclose to defense counsel any material or information within the prosecuting 15 attorney's possession or control that tends to negate the guilt of the accused as 16 to the offense or would tend to reduce the accused's punishment therefor. In 17 addition, within 20 days after receiving a written demand from defense 18 counsel, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose to defense counsel and make 19 available for inspection and copying 20 (i) all information favorable to the accused that is in the 21 possession of the prosecuting attorney or a branch of law enforcement 22 involved in the prosecution of the accused; 23 (ii) evidence disproving the identity of the accused as 24 the perpetrator of an offense at issue; 25 (iii) evidence tending to disprove an element of an 26 offense at issue; 27 (iv) evidence constituting a prior representation of a 28 witness account describing the events surrounding an offense at issue 29 that varies in any degree from any other statements of the witness; 30 (v) evidence that a witness has a prior criminal history; 31 (vi) evidence that a witness has engaged in acts that
01 would bear on the credibility and integrity of the witness or the 02 witness's testimony; 03 (vii) evidence that would cause a reasonable person to 04 question the veracity of a witness, including motive, bias, 05 compensation, or information tending to devalue the testimony offered. 06 (B) Material and Information Not Within the Prosecuting 07 Attorney's Possession, Custody, or Control. If material or information 08 requested by defense counsel is not in the possession, custody, or control of the 09 prosecuting attorney, the prosecuting attorney shall make a diligent, good faith 10 effort to ascertain the existence of the requested material or information and 11 make the material or information available for discovery where it exists. 12 (C) Continuing Duty to Disclose Favorable Information. If, 13 after complying with the requirements in (b)(3)(A) and (b)(3)(B) of this rule, 14 additional material or information subject to discovery under (b)(3)(A) of this 15 rule comes into the possession of the prosecuting attorney or a branch of law 16 enforcement involved in the prosecution of the accused, either before or during 17 trial, the prosecuting attorney shall disclose the material or information to 18 defense counsel. 19 (D) In Camera Review. The prosecuting attorney may request 20 an in camera review of any evidence demanded by defense counsel. After an in 21 camera review of the materials provided and all parties have been afforded a 22 reasonable opportunity to be heard, the court shall promptly issue a written 23 order granting or denying defense counsel's access to all or part of the 24 materials. In determining whether to grant or deny defense counsel's access to 25 the materials, the court shall consider whether the requested review of the 26 materials may reasonably be expected to cause substantial and identifiable 27 harm to others that outweighs the right of the accused to access the materials, 28 whether the requested review would have a detrimental effect on the action or 29 proceeding, or whether all or part of the materials sought to be reviewed 30 constitute personal notes and observations. The court shall reconsider an order 31 denying access to all or part of the materials if the court determines at a later
01 date that the basis for denying defense counsel access to the materials no 02 longer exists. 03 (E) Time Limit. The court may delay disclosure of material or 04 information under (b)(3)(A) of this rule until a date the court determines will 05 provide a reasonable amount of time for defense counsel to review the material 06 or information before trial. The date of disclosure may not be less than 30 days 07 before the date set for trial absent a showing by the prosecuting attorney of 08 compelling circumstances. 09 (F) Noncompliance. If, at any time during the course of the 10 proceedings, it is brought to the attention of the court that the prosecuting 11 attorney has failed to comply with (b)(3)(A) or (b)(3)(B) of this rule, the court 12 shall 13 (i) enter findings into the record regarding the extent of 14 and reason for the noncompliance; and 15 (ii) order an appropriate remedy under (b)(3)(G) of this 16 rule. 17 (G) Remedies. In addition to sanctions imposed under (e) of 18 this rule, if the court finds that prosecuting attorney has failed to comply with 19 (b)(3)(A) or (b)(3)(B) of this rule, the court may order 20 (i) postponement or adjournment of the proceedings; 21 (ii) exclusion or limitation of testimony or evidence; 22 (iii) a new trial; 23 (iv) dismissal with or without prejudice; or 24 (v) any other remedy determined appropriate by the 25 court. 26 (H) Totality of the Circumstances. In determining a remedy 27 under (a)(3)(G) of this rule, the court shall consider the totality of the 28 circumstances, including 29 (i) the seriousness of the violation; 30 (ii) the effect of the violation on the proceeding; 31 (iii) whether the violation resulted from innocent error,
01 negligence, recklessness, or knowing conduct; and 02 (iv) the effectiveness of alternative remedies to protect 03 the interest of the accused and the public in ensuring fair prosecutions 04 and proceedings. 05 * Sec. 3. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 06 read: 07 CONDITIONAL EFFECT. Section 2 of this Act takes effect only if sec. 2 of this Act 08 receives the two-thirds majority vote of each house required by art. IV, sec. 15, Constitution 09 of the State of Alaska.