Alaska Criminal Code Revision: Preliminary Report

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 This resulted in a criminal code containing outdated statutes, obsolete terminology, a number of overly specific statutes, a haphazard approach to mens rea (the culpable mental state with which a defendant must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).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.Alaska Criminal Code Revision CommissionPreface: 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 Cod