Alaska Supreme Court and Court of Appeals Year in Review 1991
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YEAR IN REVIEW ALASKA SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS YEAR IN REVIEW 1991 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction .................................. 115 II. Administrative Law ............................ 115 III. Business Law ................................. 127 IV. Constitutional Law ............................. 137 A. Equal Protection ............................ 137 B. Double Jeopardy ............................ 139 C. Search and Seizure .......................... 141 D. Due Process ............................... 147 E. M iscellaneous .............................. 151 V. Employment Law .............................. 157 VI. Family Law .................................. 172 A. Child and Spousal Support .................... 173 B. Property Division ........................... 174 VII. Fish and Game Law ............................ 180 VIII. Procedure .................................... 185 A. Failure of Prosecution ........................ 186 B. Modification of Final Judgment ................. 188 C. Statute of Limitations ........................ 190 D. Attorneys' Fees and Sanctions .................. 196 E. Miscellaneous .............................. 198 IX. Property Law ................................. 203 X. Tax Law ..................................... 207 XI. Tort Law .................................... 211 A. Judicial Misconduct ......................... 212 114 ALASKA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 9:1 B. M alpractice ............................... 215 C. Negligence ................................ 217 D. Product Liability ............................ 223 E. Miscellaneous .............................. 225 XII. Criminal Law ................................. 230 A. Evidence ................................. 230 B. General Criminal Law ........................ 238 C. Criminal Procedure .......................... 252 D. Sentencing ................................ 265 Appendix A ........................................ 276 Appendix B ........................................ 278 19921 YEAR IN REVIEW ALASKA SUPREME COURT AND COURT OF APPEALS YEAR IN REVIEW 1991 I. INTRODUCTION Year in Review contains brief summaries of selected decisions by the Alaska Supreme Court and the Alaska Court of Appeals. Due to the volume of cases, not all cases decided by the courts have been reviewed. The authors have attempted to highlight decisions representing a departure from prior law or resolving issues of first impression. For easy reference, the opinions have been grouped into eleven categories, according to the general subject matter and import of their holdings rather than the nature of the underlying claims: administrative law, business law, constitutional law, employment law, family law, fish and game law, procedure, property law, tax law, tort law and criminal law. The criminal law section has been placed last because of its sheer volume of cases. In some instances, the eleven categories have been further divided into subcategories representing more specific areas of the law. Appendix A lists the cases that were omitted from this year's Review because they either applied well-settled principles or involved narrow holdings of limited import. Appendix B notes which Court of Appeals decisions have been granted certiorari by the Alaska Supreme Court. II. ADMINISTRATIVE LAW In the area of administrative law, the Alaska Supreme Court decided ten cases challenging agency actions or regulations on a variety of procedural, statutory and constitutional grounds. In particular, the court was guided by a precise approach to statutory language in those cases involving agencies that exceeded the boundaries of their rulemaking authority or that sought to avoid certain statutorily prescribed responsibilities. In FairbanksNorth StarBorough School Districtv. NEA-Alaska, Inc.,' the supreme court held that a Department of Education regulation that entitles teachers employed for only fractions of a school year "which equal Copyright © 1992 by Alaska Law Review 1. 817 P.2d 923 (Alaska 1991). ALASKA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 9:1 two ful school terms ' to tenure conflicts with a statute that requires teachers to be employed "in the same district continuously for two full school years"3 in order to be considered for tenure.4 The superior court granted NEA-Alaska's motion for summary judgment, holding that the Department's regulation is valid.5 On appeal, the supreme court found that the language in the statute -- "continuously (employed) for two full school years"6 -- unambiguously precludes those who have only worked for a fraction of the school year.7 The court distinguished State v. Redman,8 which had held that a teacher working part-time could qualify for tenure under the statute because that teacher had been employed for two full school years.9 "The use of the word 'full' in the Alaska statute indicates the Alaska Legislature's intent to preclude a teacher from counting a portion of a year toward the two-year probationary period required for tenure."10 Warner v. State," a consolidation of three appeals dismissed by the superior court and the Alaska Real Estate Commission for untimely filing,12 declared section 64.295 of title 12 of the Alaska Administrative Code invalid "because it was not promulgated pursuant to a legislative grant of authority."' 3 Section 64.295 purported to establish a one year statute of 4 limitations for filing claims under the Real Estate Surety Fund Act.' The supreme court reversed the dismissals, holding that the Real Estate Commission lacked the authority to promulgate Section 64.295.'s The court opined that neither Alaska Statutes section 08.88.0816 nor section 2. ALASKA ADMIN. CODE tit. 4, § 18.900(b)(2) (Jan. 1991). 3. ALASKA STAT. § 14.20.150(a)(2) (1987) (emphasis added). 4. NEA-Alaska, 817 P.2d at 925. Teachers may be employed for only fractions of a school year for various reasons. For example, the student population may be different than what was originally predicted, or term teachers may leave because of illness or maternity leave. Id. 5. Id. 6. ALASKA STAT. § 14.20.150(a)(2) (1987). 7. NEA-Alaska, 817 P.2d at 926. 8. 491 P.2d 157 (Alaska 1971), aff'd on other grounds, 519 P.2d 760 (Alaska 1974). 9. NEA-Alaska, 817 P.2d at 926. 10. Id. In addition, the court opined that although interpreting the statute less strictly might attract a higher quality of teachers to Alaska, this decision is properly in the domain of the legislature, not the courts or the Department of Education. Id. 11. 819 P.2d 28 (Alaska 1991). 12. ALASKA ADMIN. CODE tit. 12, § 64.295 (July 1991). 13. Warner, 819 P.2d at 29, 33-34. 14. Id. at 29-30; see ALASKA STATuTES §§ 08.88.450-.495 (1991). 15. Warner, 819 P.2d at 33. 16. Alaska Statutes section 08.88.081 provides: "the commission shall adopt regulations necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter." ALASKA STAT. § 08.88.081 (1991). 1992] YEAR IN REVIEW 08.88.111'" authorizes the institution of the one-year statute of limitations provision because neither statute actually appears in the Real Estate Surety Fund Act and both statutes relate only to the licensing powers of the Commission.' The court further noted that the Real Estate Surety Fund Act only sets forth the procedures to be followed in adjudicating surety fund claims, and that "the surety fund statutes do not confer a broad grant of rulemaking authority."'19 In the Matter of E.A.O.' defined the scope of certain administrative duties. The supreme court held that the Department of Health and Social Services ("DHSS") continues to have a responsibility for the medical expenses of children in its custody, even when the children are placed in their parents' homes. E.A.O., a child born prematurely due to her mother's alcohol abuse, was in the temporary legal custody of DHSS because of her parents' inability to pay her extensive medical expenses. 2' Although E.A.O.'s medical problems classified her as a "special needs case," the superior court nonetheless released E.A.O. to the custody of her parents, subject to the supervision of DHSS and ruled that DHSS would no longer be responsible for E.A.O.'s medical expenses.22 E.A.O.'s mother appealed only on the question of whether DHSS had the burden of paying E.A.O.'s medical expenses for the nine-month period when E.A.O. remained legally in the custody of the state, although residing at her parents' home.' In reversing the superior court, the supreme court noted "[w]e think it clear that the department is responsible for the medical costs of children in its custody, whether the children are placed at home or in a foster home."24 The court relied on Alaska Statutes section 47.10.084(a), which expressly states that the legal custodial relationship imposes the duty of paying medical costs on the department.'s The next two decisions in this area involved questions of the functional definition of an administrative appeal and when such an appeal will be deemed exhausted. In Diedrich v. City of Ketchikan,2 the plaintiff 17. Alaska Statutes section 08.88.111 provides: "the commission shall adopt procedural regulations describing (1) how it conducts an examination; (2) how a person applies to take an examination.... ." ALASKA STAT. § 08.88.111 (1991). 18. Warner, 819 P.2d at 31. 19. Id. at 32. 20. 816 P.2d 1352 (Alaska 1991). 21. Id. at 1353. 22. Id. at 1354. 23. Id. 24. Id. at 1356. 25. Id. at 1356-57; see ALASKA STAT. § 47.10.084(a) (1990). 26. 805 P.2d 362 (Alaska 1991). ALASKA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 9:1 claimed that the City of Ketchikan had deleted funding for his position of Utilities Engineer, resulting in his