After mass dismissals, state will help Anchorage prosecute crimes

The Alaska Department of Law announced plans Tuesday to help Anchorage city prosecutors take criminal cases to trial after the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reported the municipality has dropped hundreds of cases due to low staffing.

Normally, the city prosecutes misdemeanor crimes that occur within city limits while the state prosecutes felonies. Over the next six months, the two governments plan to work together to stem the wave of dismissals. Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore said his department would provide seven to 10 state attorneys to aid the city government.

“Public safety is one of the primary goals of any government,” Skidmore said in a written statement. “The Department of Law is not staffed to take on all misdemeanor prosecutions in Anchorage, but we are working to lend a hand to protect the public as best we can while the municipal prosecutor’s office gets back on its feet.”

“Many of our prosecutors live in Anchorage, so for many of us this is our community too,” he said.

Since May 1, the Anchorage municipal prosecutor’s office has dismissed more than 1,000 misdemeanor criminal cases because the speedy trial deadline had expired or was about to expire. The cases included defendants charged with domestic violence, child abuse and driving under the influence.

[Earlier coverage: Hundreds of people charged with domestic violence, child abuse or DUIs are walking free in Anchorage]

City officials said employee turnover and resignations left the municipality without enough attorneys.

City Attorney Eva Gardner previously said the city asked the state for help back in April but was rebuffed. Skidmore has said city officials did not explicitly ask for assistance at the April meeting.

Gardner, who began working for the city in July under new mayor Suzanne LaFrance, said that when she learned of the apparent miscommunication, she called Skidmore, and city and state lawyers the two sides met Oct. 8 to discuss potential solutions.

“The state has a willingness to help, and it’s just a matter of figuring out the best way to do it,” she said.

In Alaska, people charged with a crime are guaranteed the right to face a jury within 120 days unless they agree to extend the deadline. As it became clear that the city did not have enough attorneys to go to trial, defense attorneys began declaring that nearly all defendants were ready for trial. The city couldn’t keep up, leading to dismissal after dismissal.

The municipality has dropped at least 279 cases of domestic violence assault and 313 drunken driving cases due to speedy trial deadlines since May 1.

Skidmore said the state plans to loan attorneys from the Office of Special Prosecutions, the Anchorage District Attorney’s office, and even some former prosecutors working within the Department of Law’s civil division.

Gardner said that when the news organizations revealed the mass dismissals on Sunday, she also heard from retired prosecutors who expressed an interest in helping the new municipal attorneys take cases to trial. The city is exploring that option as well, she said.