Legislature(2011 - 2012)CAPITOL 120
01/31/2011 01:00 PM House JUDICIARY
| Audio | Topic |
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| Start | |
| Overview(s): Department of Law - Criminal Division | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE JUDICIARY STANDING COMMITTEE
January 31, 2011
1:05 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Steve Thompson, Vice Chair
Representative Wes Keller
Representative Bob Lynn
Representative Lance Pruitt
Representative Max Gruenberg
Representative Lindsey Holmes
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Carl Gatto, Chair
Representative Mike Chenault (alternate)
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
OVERVIEW(S): DEPARTMENT OF LAW - CRIMINAL DIVISION
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
RICHARD SVOBODNY, Deputy Attorney General
Central Office
Criminal Division
Department of Law (DOL)
Juneau, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Presented the overview of the Department of
Law, Criminal Division.
ACTION NARRATIVE
1:05:17 PM
VICE CHAIR STEVE THOMPSON called the House Judiciary Standing
Committee meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. Representatives
Thompson, Holmes, Lynn, Keller, and Pruitt were present at the
call to order. Representative Gruenberg arrived as the meeting
was in progress.
^Overview(s): Department of Law - Criminal Division
Overview(s): Department of Law - Criminal Division
1:05:22 PM
VICE CHAIR THOMPSON announced that the only order of business
would be an overview by the Department of Law, Criminal
Division.
1:05:59 PM
RICHARD SVOBODNY, Deputy Attorney General, Central Office,
Criminal Division, Department of Law (DOL), explained that the
mission of the Department of Law is to prosecute crimes and
provide legal services to state government for the protection
and benefit of Alaska's citizens. He stated that that mission
is divided into four core services: protecting the safety and
financial well being of Alaskans; fostering conditions for
responsible development of natural resources; protecting the
fiscal integrity of the state; and promoting good governance.
He said the Criminal Division is primarily involved in the first
of those four services, but has a hand in the other three, as
well. Mr. Svobodny named the three divisions within the
department: the Criminal Division, which has [121] lawyers and
a budget of $30.9 million; the Civil Division, which has 162
lawyers and a budget of $49.9 million; and the Division of
Administrative Services, which has one lawyer - the attorney
general.
MR. SVOBODNY related that the Criminal Division is divided into
13 district attorneys' offices, located in Anchorage, Fairbanks,
Juneau, Ketchikan, Barrow, Bethel, Dillingham, Kodiak, Kotzebue,
Nome, Sitka, Kenai, and Palmer, with nine district attorneys
serving those offices. Four of the offices are satellite
offices: Sitka, which is supervised by the district attorney in
Juneau; Barrow, which is supervised by the district attorney in
Fairbanks; Kotzebue, which is supervised by the district
attorney in Nome; and Dillingham, which is supervised by the
district attorney in Anchorage. Until recently, he said, all
those satellite offices were managed by one lawyer, one
paralegal, and one office assistant. This year, he said, the
governor's budget requests an increase in the number of lawyers
covering Kotzebue by one, because that district attorney has a
caseload of 844 cases. He said the number of caseloads range
between 180 and 844.
MR. SVOBODNY relayed that on the previous Tuesday, at the
request of the attorney general, a "snapshot" was taken of the
cases currently in progress around the state, which was a
reported 11 felony trials and 9 misdemeanor trials. He noted
that a couple of those cases are high profile, including one
sexual assault case. He stated that the department received
8,284 felony cases for review for prosecution, up from
approximately 7,700 the prior year, and prosecuted 5,650 of
those cases, which is roughly the same number of cases
prosecuted in the prior year. He reported that the department
received 23,500 misdemeanor cases, up from 23,200 the prior
year, and prosecuted 19,800 of those cases.
MR. SVOBODNY highlighted that both the Municipality of Anchorage
and the Municipality of Juneau have chosen to prosecute
misdemeanor cases, and combined do approximately 9,000 cases
annually. He said those municipalities take on some of the
harder cases, for example, driving under the influence and
assault and domestic violence cases - all cases aimed at
ensuring public safety.
1:15:21 PM
MR. SVOBODNY said that in addition to the 13 district attorney's
offices, the Criminal Division also has an Office of Special
Prosecutions & Appeals, in which are the Appeals Unit, the Rural
Prosecution Unit, and the Special Prosecutions Unit. He said
the Appeals Unit represents the state when criminal matters are
appealed. He listed the following sub-units within the Special
Prosecutions Unit: White Collar Crime, Alcohol Interdiction,
Environmental Crimes, Fish and Game, Medicaid [Provider] Fraud,
Permanent Fund Dividend and Welfare Fraud, Cold Case, and Child
Support Enforcement. He noted that there is only one attorney
for each of those sub-units. Mr. Svobodny related that the
Rural Prosecution Unit is designed to offer help to small
offices taking on major cases, and to mentor citizens in the
Bush areas. He stated that prosecution is generally an area
where young lawyers are hired, and emphasized the importance of
getting good training. He further remarked upon the length of
combined experience of the three lawyers in the Special
Prosecutions Unit.
MR. SVOBODNY said the Criminal Division operates its
administrative functions in the Central Office. He named the
following people who work in the Central Office [and Legal
Services Section]: himself, Susan McLean, Anne Carpeneti. He
said there are two lawyers who represent the [Department] of
Corrections. He said another lawyer represents the Department
of Public Safety.
1:22:35 PM
MR. SVOBODNY turned to the issue of the effects of legislation
that passed in 2010. He explained that last year, the governor
devised a four-pronged approach to reducing domestic violence
and sexual assault in the next 10 years, with a major part of
that approach addressing how to prevent domestic violence and
sexual assault, how to get appropriate treatment, and how to
change the culture. He noted that last year's House Judiciary
Standing Committee members did substantive work on many of the
components of the issue. He further credited the committee for
its work on three pieces of legislation, which addressed the
following issues: bail, sexual assault and domestic violence,
and post-conviction deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) matters.
MR. SVOBODNY, with regard to the latter, said the legislature
last year passed a process for people to seek post-conviction
relief if there is sufficient evidence that those people did not
commit the crimes and DNA could be used to exonerate them. He
offered his understanding that, to date, no one has filed an
application, either under the legislation's provisions or under
that outlined by the courts prior to the enacting of the
aforementioned bill.
MR. SVOBODNY, regarding the bail bill, said last year's bill was
the first total review of the bail statutes since 1966. The
bill made several changes, bringing Alaska's bail statutes to
where federal statute was. He related a personal experience in
court that illustrated that the bail bill has been working. Mr.
Svobodny noted, though, that just prior to the passing of the
bill, the state was sued by the Association of Defense Lawyers
being represented by the American Civil Liberties Union,
claiming that 13 provisions of the bail bill were
unconstitutional and asking for injunctive relief. He
highlighted some of those contested provisions, and he said the
one provision that is still up in the air is one that requires a
20-day cooling off period following a sexual assault.
1:35:22 PM
MR. SVOBODNY stated that the other bill which has resulted in
legal action was one that dealt with domestic violence and
sexual assault. He said that bill has been attacked in one
specific area, AS 11.61.128, which used to address electronic
distribution of indecent material to minors, but was expanded by
the legislature to include distribution of indecent material to
someone under 16 or to somebody the person doing the
distributing thought was under 16. He explained the arguments
for and against that legislation and described where in the
process the department is.
1:46:38 PM
MR. SVOBODNY relayed that the governor has introduced changes
regarding sexual assault legislation, which will be heard by the
House Judiciary Standing Committee. He said the State of Alaska
will need to comply with the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act of 2006, regarding sex offender registration, by July
27, 2011, or lose federal grant money. He said for the last
three years he has addressed a letter to specific legislators,
including the House Judiciary Standing Committee chairs,
regarding this issue, so that an informed decision can be made.
MR. SVOBODNY stated that the final issue to be addressed is that
of safety of prosecutors. He said the department is trying to
find someone to audit all the facilities in the state.
1:53:52 PM
MR. SVOBODNY, in response to Representative Gruenberg, offered
details regarding the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act
of 2006. He reviewed the differences between that Act and the
Alaska Sex Offender Registration Act. He said the Department of
Public Safety has related that it would cost the state more to
adhere to the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006
than to lose the federal grant monies given for following it.
In response to a follow-up comment by Representative Gruenberg,
he said he has, through his aforementioned letters, supplied the
legislature with the details of the Act and the grant, but he
would do so again.
2:03:41 PM
MR. SVOBODNY, in response to Representative Gruenberg,
reiterated that an audit is necessary in order to better address
the security of prosecutors. He added that lawyers are often
threatened, as well. He agreed to supply any audit information
to the legislature so that that body may better address the
issue.
2:07:24 PM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Judiciary Standing Committee meeting was adjourned at 2:07 p.m.
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