DRAFT LETTER FROM ANCHORAGE ASSEMBLY MEMBERS URGING THE TO CHANGE STATE LAW TO ALLOW JUDGES TO CONSIDER OUT-OF-STATE CONVICTIONS IN SETTING BAIL

March 14, 2018

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE Rep. , Chair Sen. John Coghill, Chair Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, Vice-Chair Sen. Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux Sen. Pete Kelly Rep. David Eastman Sen. Rep. Chuck Kopp Sen. Rep. Rep. Charisse Millett Rep. Rep.

Dear Chair Claman, Chair Coghill and Judiciary Committee Members,

Thank you for your service.

We write today urging you to promptly hold committee hearings on and advance HB295/SB150 for floor action. These bills were introduced at the start of the Legislative session and have sat in your respective Judiciary Committees for 54 days of a 90-day session without a hearing or any other action.

If you do not take action, dangerous criminals will continue to be released into our communities to threaten the public and commit more crimes.

Prior to passage of SB91, judges in Alaska used their discretion to assign bail, considering all factors relevant to protecting the public and assuring appearance at future criminal proceedings. SB91 created the mandatory Alaska 2 Scale (AK-2S) to determine bail for persons charged with crimes. AK-2S went into effect in January of this year. It soon became clear that there were serious problems.

Specifically, the new bail system does not allow judges to consider out-of-state convictions. Passage of these bills would close this loophole.

Please consider a couple of examples demonstrating why this is so important to effective law enforcement in Alaska.

On January 27, 2018, gun shots were fired between two cars in the Northway Mall parking lot near the entrance to a children’s trampoline park. Jessica Malcolm was in one of the cars. APD chased the car, it crashed, and Ms. Malcolm fled the scene. When she was caught, she had a Glock .45 handgun with a 30-round magazine. Because she was a felon in California, she was charged with being a felon in possession of a weapon, a class C felony. However, because the new bail schedule does not allow our judges to consider out-of-state convictions, she was released without bail the next day. She has now missed two court appearances and is at large.

On March 6, 2018, Shane Muse was driving a stolen car. APD officers identified the car and gave chase, eventually using a pit maneuver to stop the vehicle. APD found a stolen handgun in the car with a bullet in the chamber. Mr. Muse had pending charges for vehicle theft and access device forgery. He had failed to appear for trial on these charges and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Mr. Muse has several felony robbery convictions in Hawaii, and the pending charges in Alaska, but no prior Alaska convictions. Under the new bail system, Mr. Muse would have been released but the fact that the forgery charge predated the bail system, allowing the prosecutors to keep him in custody.

If you would like other examples of the serious public safety risks posed by ignoring out-of-state convictions in bail determinations, we would be happy to provide them.

Please move HB295/SB150 quickly from the Judiciary Committee for floor action.

Sincerely, Sincerely,

Eric Croft Dick Traini Chair, Public Safety Committee Assembly Chair

Sincerely,

Fred Dyson Assembly Seat 2B