Legislature(2001 - 2002)
04/24/2002 01:44 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
HB 405-CRIMES ON OR AGAINST STATE VESSELS/PLANES
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR informed members that he had a committee
substitute prepared as well as a concurrent resolution to address
the title change.
SENATOR DONLEY asked Representative Meyer if he approves of the
committee substitute.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER said he does.
SENATOR DONLEY moved to adopt Version C (Luckhaupt 4/16/02) as
the Senate Judiciary committee substitute to HB 405.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR announced that without objection, Version C was
before the committee.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER, sponsor of HB 405, informed members that
the only change made to Version C is that state-owned aircraft
was added. He explained that HB 405 gives the state jurisdiction
over state-owned watercraft and aircraft traveling outside state
waters. He introduced this legislation because recently an Alaska
Superior Court judge dismissed a prosecution for sexual assault
that occurred on a state-owned ferry in Canadian waters. He
stated:
Last year a young woman, 16 years old, was sexually
assaulted when she was on the Alaska ferry, Matanuska,
en route from Seattle to Ketchikan. The ferry was in
Canadian waters at the time of the assault. The
district attorney in Ketchikan presented the case to
the Grand Jury there, and the Grand Jury returned an
indictment for one count of sexual assault in the first
degree and one count of sexual assault in the second
degree, and four counts of misdemeanor assault.
Unfortunately the court found that there was no
statutory authority for the State of Alaska to
prosecute the crime, even though the victim was an
Alaskan and it happened on an Alaskan owned state
ferry. Under federal maritime law, the United States
government has jurisdiction over crimes that occur on
U.S. vessels in Canadian waters but the dismissal by
the state court is of concern because the crime is
unlikely to be prosecuted by the federal government and
certainly not by the Canadian government. The federal
government doesn't usually pursue smaller crimes, even
though sexual assault is not a smaller crimes, and the
Canadian government has very little interest in
pursuing a crime that occurred on the Alaska owned
ferry system to a U.S. citizen. So, I believe it's
prudent that we pass this law that specifically gives
the State of Alaska the power to prosecute cases like
this that occur on our state-owned watercraft and now
aircraft.
This problem is not going to go away, Mr. Chairman.
Just as recently as in December, we had an incident
where a passenger attacked two crewmembers with a
broken vodka bottle and caused some injury to the
crewmembers. The passenger has since filed a motion to
dismiss based upon the dismissal of this case with the
sexual assault. Also this occurred on the state ferry
system in Canadian waters. This bill is a simple bill
but it provides a solution to a very serious problem.
The bottom line, to summarize what we're trying to do
here, is that if the Canadian government does not want
to prosecute criminal activity on our state-owned
vessels, and the federal government doesn't have any
interest, then the state should have the right and the
option to do so and this bill will allow that. Thank
you.
SENATOR DONLEY said that he supports this legislation but is
flabbergasted because he assumed the federal government did not
step in and prosecute that case.
MS. ANNE CARPENETI, representing the Criminal Division of the
Department of Law, said it is her understanding that the United
States Attorney's Office is reviewing the case. No charges have
been filed yet, to her knowledge.
SENATOR DONLEY asked what the time frame is.
MS. CARPENETI said she is not familiar with the federal statute
of limitations but she would find out.
SENATOR DONLEY said he thinks it's dreadful that this happened on
a state ferry and no federal decision about whether to prosecute
has been made, given there was a grand jury indictment under
state law.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER said he has written letters to Alaska's
congressional delegation about the matter.
MS. CARPENETI said the federal statutes are different and she is
not familiar with federal screening rules.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said the bill was amended to include state-owned
aircraft, but he is concerned that by limiting the bill to only
those aircraft owned or operated by the state, the question
remains open of who has jurisdiction and who will prosecute on an
aircraft owned or operated by the state flying over Canadian air
space. He said he would like Alaska's long-arm jurisdiction to
be as long as possible for the protection of Alaska's citizens.
MS. CARPENETI commented that the bill was originally drafted to
address a particular problem on a state ferry. She explained that
traditionally, criminal jurisdiction of a state is based on
territorial considerations. The theory behind HB 405 is that an
Alaska ferry or aircraft is "like a little piece of Alaska going
through Canadian waters." She noted if the state expands
jurisdiction too far, it is liable to be subject to a due process
claim and dismissal so the theory was to address the current
problem and consider how to handle future situations under due
process considerations to expand the program.
SENATOR DONLEY moved SCS CSHB 405(JUD) from committee with
individual recommendations, as well as its accompanying
concurrent resolution.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR announced that without objection, SCS CSHB
405(JUD) moved from committee with its accompanying resolution.
SENATOR DONLEY asked Representative Meyer for a copy of the
correspondence he sent on this subject and then moved that the
Senate Judiciary Committee send a letter to the U.S. Attorney's
Office expressing its concern and support for examining this case
in an expedited manner.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR announced that with no objection, Representative
Meyer would work with staff to draft such a letter.
REPRESENTATIVE MEYER said he would be willing to do so.
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