Daniel Lee Nichols killed his mother by strangling her. The grand jury charged Nichols with first-degree murder,1 two counts of second-degree murder,2... ... ... manslaughter,3 and two counts of third-degree misconduct involving weapons.4 Nichols pleaded no contest to the weapons charges, and the jury convicted Nichols of first-degree murder... Nichols argues that the superior court erroneously admitted evidence that he strangled a correctional officer a few years before the homicide. We...  

Megan Maxwell was found stabbed to death in a stairwell inside her apartment building. A jury convicted Earl L. Voyles of second-degree murder and... ... ... tampering with evidence as a result of this homicide.1 The superior court imposed the maximum 99-year term for second-degree murder and ordered that Voyles would not be eligible for discretionary parole until he had served 80 years of imprisonment... Voyles appeals the superior court's pre-trial rulings on motions to suppress, trial...  

Thomas M. Wood was convicted of one count each of pollution, hazardous substance release, and improper disposal of oil.1 On appeal he contends that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress statements he made to a state investigator;... ... ... by allowing the jury to inspect barrels of oil that had been abandoned alongside Eklutna Lake Road; by allowing the State to introduce a videotape of his automotive repair shop; by restricting his cross-examination of the State's...  

In this case, Rolando Vizcarra-Medina sought post-conviction relief based on assertions that he had not understood key aspects of his plea agreement with the State. The attorney appointed to represent Vizcarra-Medina investigated these claims and... ... ... concluded that they could not be proved. That is, the attorney concluded that, whatever Vizcarra-Medina might say in support of these claims, Vizcarra-Medina could not establish by clear and convincing evidence that he had not understood the...  

I. INTRODUCTION... After Samuel Peter, Jr., a minor, was injured in an accident, his father, Samuel Peter, Sr., for himself and Samuel, Jr. sued the Progressive Corporation and Progressive Northwestern Insurance Company (collectively, Progressive), the family auto insurer. Their complaint included a claim that Progressive wrongfully refused to pay the policy limits of their underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. When Progressive moved for partial summary judgment, arguing that the UIM coverage...  

The defendant in this case, Edward Allen Butler, was convicted of exposing himself to children in two separate incidents. At trial, Butler presented a defense of alibi — i.e., that he was out of state on the dates in question. The issue presented in this... ... ... appeal is whether the superior court should have granted Butler's request for a mistrial when, in the middle of trial, the State discovered (and disclosed) the dispatch log of a call to 911 that placed Butler's first act of...  

Brutus Clay Weaver appeals his convictions (under the Anchorage Municipal Ordinances) for driving under the influence and breath-test refusal (File No. A-10052), and for violating the conditions of his release (File No. A-10061)... ... ... Weaver challenges several of the district court's evidentiary rulings at his DUI trial. He also argues that his conviction for breath-test refusal should be set aside because, even though he refused the breath test, he later exercised his right to an...  

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT*... I. INTRODUCTION... The City of Hoonah taxes the sale of services. In 2004 it assessed this tax against Tok River Outfitters for the sale of two guided bear hunts conducted in September 2004. John Erickson and his son Chris Erickson operate and own Tok River... ... ... Outfitters. They protested the assessment and filed a superior court appeal after the city's Sales Tax Appeal Board rejected their protest. Their appeal challenged the assessment for the two...  

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND JUDGMENT*... I. INTRODUCTION... Allen Ah You appeals from an order enforcing a domestic agreement he and his then-wife, Joan Ah You, signed in attempting a reconciliation. The domestic agreement allocates two of the couple's three houses to Joan. Allen argues, among other things, that the agreement is unenforceable because he signed it under duress and because... ... ... Joan did not attempt to reconcile in good faith. Because our review of the record does not leave us...  

The defendant in this case, Dekeitric Laron Lewis, was charged with several counts of assault: third-degree assault against two of his family members (his mother and... ... ... his sister), third-degree assault against a police officer who came to their aid, and fourth-degree assault against a second police officer... Lewis is chronically mentally ill, but his attorney announced that Lewis did not wish to claim insanity or even to claim that his mental disease or defect negated a culpable...  

A jury convicted Charles L. Littlefield of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree1 and sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree.2 These offenses were merged for purposes of sentencing. Superior Court Judge Patricia A. Collins sentenced Littlefield to 35 years of imprisonment with 10 years suspended. On appeal, Littlefield argues two claims of error: (1) that the trial court improperly instructed the jury on the definition of sexual penetration, and (2) that the trial court erred in...  

Sabil Mumin Mujahid argues that the superior court erred when it did not dismiss his case after the prosecution provided late discovery during trial. We conclude that Mujahid did not show that he was prejudiced by the late disclosure and affirm the superior court... ... ... Background facts and proceedings... At about five o'clock in the morning on September 12, 2004, Officer Troy J. Clark of the Anchorage Police Department was walking behind Mujahid near the Big Timber Motel in the Mountain...  

On the night of April 17, 2005, the Lions Club hosted a dance in Kotzebue. Wishing to attend this dance, N.W. visited the home of Aubrey "Tex" Beasley to see if Beasley's daughter would babysit N.W.'s young son for the evening. When the... ... ... babysitting arrangements were complete, Tex Beasley and N.W. walked together to the dance... When the dance ended (in the early hours of the following morning), Frank Kenworthy Sr. offered to give N.W. a ride back to the Beasley residence. But...  

In 1992, Leslie L. Simpson Jr. was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder for killing his wife. In the summer of 1994, this Court affirmed Simpson's conviction on appeal: Simpson v. State, 877 P.2d 1319 (Alaska App. 1994)... ... ... Almost ten years later (in April 2004), Simpson filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. Simpson then obtained an attorney and, several months later, the attorney filed an amended petition. In this amended petition, and in Simpson's supporting...  

I. INTRODUCTION... William Pastos pled no contest to four counts of violating a protective order by engaging in unlawful contact with his former girlfriend, K.Y. The district court... ... ... directed him to report to state custody the following morning. Until that time, Pastos was to have no contact, direct or indirect, with K.Y. After he left the courtroom, Pastos went to a bank and deposited a $2,000 check that K.Y. had written him more than three years earlier. Based on Pastos's act of...  

I. INTRODUCTION... After registering Ohio child custody orders in Alaska where his children and former wife were then living, a father asked the Alaska court to modify an Ohio order that suspended his visitation rights. The superior court denied his motion. The father appeals. We affirm. Because the Ohio court has not relinquished its exclusive jurisdiction and... ... ... because the father still resides in Ohio, AS 25.30.320, part of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act...  

I. INTRODUCTION... Dr. Edward Barrington performed medical services for a workers' compensation claimant who later settled her claim with her employer, without notice to her unpaid healthcare providers, including Dr. Barrington. After the Alaska Workers' Compensation Board approved the settlement without notice to Dr. Barrington, he filed his own claim against the employer for payment. Both the board and the Alaska Workers' Compensation Appeals Commission held that the employee's settlement...  

I. INTRODUCTION... A pro se litigant filed a lawsuit against the manager of a homeless shelter, alleging that the manager discriminated against him when the manager excluded him from the shelter. The litigant also filed a lawsuit against the city and local police department for misconduct and harassment; the two lawsuits were consolidated. The superior court granted the city and police department's motion to dismiss and later... ... ... granted the shelter manager's motion for summary judgment....  

I. INTRODUCTION... Victoria Ferguson appeals the superior court's order denying her motion to modify the child support agreement she entered into with her former husband, James Ferguson. She argues that the lower court failed to make an adequate inquiry into the facts underlying her claim and that it mistakenly concluded that no change of circumstances could justify a modification. Victoria also appeals the lower court's award... ... ... of attorney's fees. Because the Fergusons' prior...  

I. INTRODUCTION... The State of Alaska, Department of Corrections (DOC) found inmate Henry J. Bauer guilty of disobeying a direct order and sentenced him to fifteen days of segregation time. Bauer appealed to the superior court. The court dismissed the appeal as moot after DOC represented that it would provide Bauer a new administrative hearing. But instead, DOC went "one step further" and reduced the original disciplinary incident... ... ... report to an "informational" item in...