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Criminal Division
 Protect the
public through effective prosecutions.
Assist law
enforcement agencies with criminal investigations by providing
legal and tactical advice.
Serve as legal
advisor to grand juries and represent the state in all phases
of criminal trial and appellate proceedings.
Effectively
prosecute domestic violence and crimes against children.
Reduce fraud
in benefit programs.
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Civil Division
Provide effective
legal advice and representation of the state.
Protect Alaska's
children and youth by handling child abuse, neglect, and delinquency
cases expeditiously.
Ensure the
state receives its correct share of oil and gas taxes and royalties;
clarify and improve the rules governing taxpayers to reduce disputes
and litigation.
Resolve questions
of state versus federal control and management of natural resources
and lands.
ncrease collections
of money owed the state by businesses and individuals for child
support, fines, loans, and other unpaid obligations.
Ensure the
department's legal review of regulations projects continues efficiently,
timely, and responsive to the needs of agencies and the public
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Criminal Division
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FY 1999 Actuals |
FY 1998 Actuals |
| Number of Violent Felonies Reviewed |
1,812 |
1,883 |
| Number of Violent Felonies Filed |
1,049 |
1,065 |
| Number of Convictions for Violent
Felonies |
494 |
534 |
| Number of Domestic Violence Assaults
Reviewed |
3,006 |
2,465 |
Successfully implemented C.R.I.M.E.S. - the Criminal
Division's new Y2K-compliant case management system.
Civil Division
Successfully
participated in the multi-state
litigation against the tobacco industry brought to protect
Alaskans and the fiscal integrity of the state's Medicaid program.
The settlement reached in November 1998, under which the state
will receive annual payments between $21 million and $27 million
for 25 years for a total of $668.9 million, is the largest recovery
to date by the state under our consumer protection and antitrust
laws.
Continued
efforts to develop the law as it relates to Alaska Natives and
the relationship between Alaska Natives and the state. We worked
to resolve the law on tribal recognition and tribal authority
post-Venetie through our briefing and presentation to the Alaska
Supreme Court in the landmark John v. Baker case.
Successfully
developed and secured passage of a comprehensive revision of
the state's child protection law. We provided more than 300 hours
of training statewide for assistant attorneys general, district
attorneys, DFYS supervisors and social workers, Indian Child
Welfare Act (ICWA) workers, state court judges, public defenders,
guardians ad litem, and law enforcement on Ch. 99, SLA 98, the
new state child protection law and the new federal Adoption and
Safe Families Act. In addition, participated in 15 training sessions
statewide given under a Rural Domestic violence and Child Abuse
Training grant, which emphasized the connection between domestic
violence and harm to children.
Continued
our work on litigation involving oil and gas, bringing into the
state treasury nearly $60 million in tax and royalty settlements.
Developed
a consumer information and complaint packet for use in processing
individual consumer complaints. The packet assists in our work
to resolve the complaint, identify repeat problem areas, take
enforcement action when warranted, and educate Alaska consumers.
Successfully
resolved the antitrust issues presented by the acquisition
of Carr-Gottstein Foods by Safeway. We worked with the parties
to negotiate a divestiture program that met state and federal
antitrust concerns, obtained
court approval of the consent decree, and worked to implement
the required divestitures.
Continued
our work on significant conflicts between state and federal jurisdiction
including subsistence,
submerged lands and navigable waters, Pacific salmon, access
rights, and endangered species listings.
Successfully
implemented new timekeeping and billing system. The former mainframe
based timekeeping system was not integrated with the billing
application and required a great deal of manual processing fraught
with failures and frustration. Additionally, the old application
had the Y2K "bug" which necessitated its replacement.
We were fortunate to have completed the transition to the new
system well in advance of the year 2000. The new system is far
easier to administer and has a great deal of reporting capabilities
and management information possibilities.
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Criminal Division:
Increase Child Protection Efforts: As part of the Governor's child protection initiative,
the Criminal Division anticipates that changes in the laws, and
increases in the numbers of social workers, police, child advocates,
and child protection attorneys, will cause the Criminal Division
to have a greater role in pursuing cases involving child abuse
and serious criminal neglect.
Implement the Domestic Violence Prevention
and Victim Protection Act of 1996:
In 1996 the Knowles Administration introduced a comprehensive
bill to address domestic violence in Alaska. This legislation
made a number of fundamental changes in the way domestic violence
cases are handled by police and the courts. In response the criminal
division developed a detailed policy regarding domestic violence
prosecutions. Because domestic violence offenders often bring
intense pressure to bear on victims, the victims often recant
or otherwise refuse to cooperate when the cases are ready for
trial. The criminal division policy is that cases be investigated
and prosecuted assuming that victims will not be present at trial.
In addition, the new law requires that additional efforts be
made to contact victims in domestic violence cases. This new
level of efforts adds to the heavy workload already present in
all criminal division offices. Domestic violence assaults make
up an increasingly large percentage of all assaults sent to criminal
division offices for prosecution.
Civil Division:
Child Protection:
Continue efforts to improve the child protection system in Alaska,
including the department's work on Indian Child Welfare Act issues.
Cooperate with other agencies to successfully implement the comprehensive
revision of the state's child protection law passed in 1998 and
the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act passed in 1997. Implementation
efforts include responding to challenges to the new law by developing
statewide interpretations of disputed points and identifying
where further changes are needed. Continue focused interagency
effort to provide permanent placements for the backlog of children
who have been in state custody for longer than the new laws allow.
Submerged Lands:
Undertake litigation against the United States to quiet title
to submerged lands underlying the marine waters within the boundaries
of the Tongass National Forest and Glacier Bay National Park.
Dinkum Sands:
Negotiate how to apply state-federal boundary principles established
by the United States Supreme Court in this case.
Pacific Salmon Treaty: Work to protect the state's interests in connection
with the implementation of the 1999 amendments to the Pacific
Salmon Treaty, and related issues concerning the application
of the Endangered Species Act and the treaty fishing rights of
certain Northwest Indian tribes to Alaska fisheries. Continue
to defend against the lawsuit brought by British Columbia and
Canadian fishers against Alaska, Washington, and the United States.
British Columbia's appeal of the dismissal of its case is now
pending in the Ninth Circuit.
Access: Continue
work to clarify and protect public rights of access and use on
land and water, including RS 2477 and navigability issues.
Endangered Species Issues: Work to protect the state's interests in consultations
with the federal government concerning the incidental take of
listed salmon, including Snake River fall chinook, Upper Willamette
River spring chinook, Lower Columbia River chinook, and Puget
Sound chinook. Work to protect the state's interests in connection
with proposals to list Cook Inlet beluga whales under both the
federal and state Endangered Species Acts. Work to protect the
state's interests in consultations with the federal government
concerning the impact of pollock and herring fisheries on endangered
Steller sea lions.
Oil and Gas Law and Policy: Continue to work with the Departments of Revenue
and Natural Resources to enforce laws involving oil and gas matters
and resolve litigation over oil and gas issues. Monitor oil and
gas pipeline tariffs and insure that the tariffs reflect proper
ratemaking methodologies. Decrease the amount of new litigation
and increase the incentives for new resource development in the
state by becoming involved in the audit process earlier and by
clarifying the interpretation of existing oil and gas leasing,
development, tax, and royalty obligations.
Special Litigation:
Defend the state against claims for significant damages in a
variety of cases, including eight already set for trial in FY
2001. Prepare for appeals of decisions favoring the state in
cases involving the constitutional challenge to the 1997 tort
reform statutory changes and the Miller's Reach fire. Prepare
state's appeal in the case alleging a negligent search and rescue
response by Alaska State Troopers.
Public Safety Funding Challenge: Defend the state against a lawsuit brought by several
villages and residents that asserts public safety in rural Alaska
is inadequate and violates the state and federal constitutions.
A motion for a preliminary injunction has been filed, to prevent
the state from spending any federal funds and prevent the state
from reducing services to rural Alaska.
Kasayulie School Facilities Funding Case:
Work to resolve the lawsuit brought
by rural school districts and parents concerning state funding
of school construction and major maintenance projects in rural
Alaska, and provide legal assistance on development of funding
mechanisms.
Major Changes
Child Protection:
Work with the Department of Health and Social Services to develop
and implement agreements with the Native Village of Barrow and
with Chevak on their reassumption of exclusive jurisdiction over
child protection cases involving member children who are living
within their village boundaries.
Subsistence:
Defend the state's regulatory authority with respect to subsistence
uses of fish and game in light of the federal government's takeover
of management of subsistence fishing on federal lands and waters.
Pacific Salmon Treaty: Monitor and interpret new provisions in the recently
renegotiated Pacific Salmon Treaty, including an attempt by the
National Marine Fisheries Service to restrict salmon harvest
in Alaska to protect species listed as endangered under the Endangered
Species Act.
Oil and Gas Policy and Litigation: Continue work on the BP
Amoco/ARCO merger and monitor implementation of merger agreement
and the companies' activity to meet its terms. URL:
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Measure: Maintain collections of criminal
and civil judgments including indigent defense costs, costs of
incarceration for DWI offenders, and other fines owed the state
at the level of $3.1 million.
(Added by Legislature in FY2000 version.)
Current Status:
FY 1999 - $3,110,979.04
Benchmark:
FY 1997 - $2,278,473.18
FY 1998 - $2,469,881.33
At this time the unit oversees 108,000 collection cases. As a
result of factors described below, which are entirely out of
the control of the unit, we are holding our performance measure
for anticipated collections at the FY 1999 level. Even so, that
level represents a 25% increase over FY 1998 collections.
Background and Strategies:
The function of the collections unit is to collect money owed
to the state in criminal, civil, and some administrative cases.
The criminal cases include the cost of imprisonment in driving
while intoxicated or refusal cases, cost of appointed counsel
in cases where a public defender or public advocate appointment
is made to represent a defendant, and outstanding fines and bond
forfeitures. While the courts can collect on fines and bond forfeitures
(these cases are only transferred to the collections unit if
they are overdue to the court) the cost of appointed counsel
cases are automatically transferred to the unit. Civil case collections
must have a judgment in excess of $250 entered with the court
and the money collected must be free for deposit into the general
fund.
There are a number of factors that affect
the amount collected. The most important factor is the amount
and number of judgments transferred by the courts, if a judgment
is not transferred, it is unlikely the unit will receive voluntary
payments and cannot seize money from a permanent fund dividend.
The second factor is the number and dollar value of voluntary
payments made by defendants. The only recourse the department
has for nonpayment, is the potential to seize the obligor's permanent
fund dividend. Additional factors include the actual amount of
the permanent fund dividend, the number of defendants applying
for dividends; the number of defendants determined to be eligible
for dividends; and other agencies or cases with statutory priority
to seize dividends before our seizures are possible.
Measure: Increase completion of
child support enforcement cases by 15%.
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)
Current Status:
In FY 1999 the Child Support Enforcement closed 688 files.
Benchmark:
With additional resources now committed toward this effort beginning
in FY 2000, the 15% increase in completed cases should be achievable.
Background and Strategies:
The child support unit represents the Child Support Enforcement
Division (CSED) in court, including paternity establishment and
disestablishment, modification of child support orders, employer
non-compliance actions, criminal non-support prosecutions, licensing
appeals, and miscellaneous other activities related to enforcement
of child support orders. In addition, the unit provides legal
support in matters relating to administrative child support enforcement
actions, drafts legislation and regulations, and provides general
legal advice to CSED.
Measure: Review 50% of all adopted
regulations within 120 days of a request for final review and
75% completed within 180 days of a request.
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)
Benchmark:
Because of the factors discussed above, the department feels
the timelines identified as our performance measure should continue.
The timelines were met in FY 1999 and continue to serve as our
benchmark for FY 2000 and 2001.
Background and Strategies:
There are a number of external factors affecting the timelines
established as performance measures. First, if changes to the
regulations are required in order to comply with state law, the
respective board or commission must readopt the regulations.
Many of these regulatory bodies meet quarterly, some only annually.
More frequent meetings convened just to deal with regulations
are a costly option. Second, staff at the adopting entity must
approve any edit made to the regulations. This often results
in delays due to staffing issues or priorities in the agency
involved. Third, even with an additional regulations attorney
added in FY 1998, our own staffing levels are inadequate to set
tighter time frames. Finally, there are more regulations being
adopted by state agencies to comply with budget cuts, court decisions,
and changes in federal law. Most major budget cuts involving
deletions of services require regulations changes to withstand
a court test.
Measure: Eliminate 95% of the permanency
placement backlog of children in state custody, and ensure 50%
of other out-of-home placement children's state custody proceedings
are resolved within 21 months.
(Not yet addressed by Legislature.)
Current Status:
Child protection attorneys for the Department of Law have caseloads
over 50, and in many cases close to 70.
Benchmark:
According to the American Bar Association, Center for Children
and the Law, a reasonable caseload for child protection attorneys
is between 40 and 50 active cases.
Background and Strategies:
With the passage of Ch. 99, SLA 98, the new state child protection
law and the new federal Adoption and Safe Families Act important
changes were made as to how long children may remain in the child
protection legal system, and when certain actions must occur.
These new statutory changes at the state and federal level more
concretely define parental responsibility and the changes move
cases to conclusion faster to ensure that when reunification
with the family is not in the child's best interest, the child
can be made legally eligible for placement in a permanent home
more quickly. A huge number of existing cases are now moving
on the new accelerated schedules, and severely impacting attorney
workloads. Maintenance of our existing resources is necessary
in order to manage this critical responsibility.
The legislation defines the timelines for
permanency hearings and termination of parental rights. In order
to achieve those timelines, and in order to eliminate the permanency
placement backlog and provide the assistance outlined above,
the per attorney caseload must be manageable.
Measure: Prosecution of 1,100 violent
felonies, 760 felony drug cases, and 2,050 misdemeanor domestic
violence assaults.
(Revised from Legislature's FY2000 version.)
Benchmark:
As a very general rule, when a district attorney office's individual
attorney felony caseload reaches 100 or more cases per year,
additional staffing for that office must be considered.
Background and Strategies:
The workload for the Criminal Division is driven by factors largely
beyond its control, such as the staffing levels and policies
of local police agencies, staffing levels of defense attorneys,
whether municipalities control alcohol, and the policies and
practices of local courts and local defense attorneys. As such,
the division is able to exercise very little control over attorney
caseload ratios and no control whatsoever over the volume of
work coming in at any given time. Thus available quantitative
information often does not show the effectiveness and competency
of the work. For example, it is very difficult to draw meaningful
conclusions based on conviction rates. More convictions don't
necessarily mean that attorneys are doing a better job. Instead
it may mean any or a combination of the following: (1) crime
is up, (2) the police are conducting better investigations, (3)
new laws are more effective, (4) the division is understaffed
and therefore plea-bargaining more, (5) the public defender agency
is understaffed and they are pleading out more of their clients.
For this reason, knowing the number of cases
handled is the best measure of the division's performance.
Because Alaska is one of a very few states
that handles all types of criminal offenses at the State level,
useful comparative data of attorney caseload is impossible to
attain. Even within Alaska, there are remarkable differences
between caseloads in the urban centers and rural communities.
Caseloads in rural Alaska per attorney tend to be much higher
because defendants are more likely to plead out, or the district
attorney is more likely to come to an agreement with the public
defender.
Status of FY2000 Performance
Measures
|
FY2000 Performance Measure |
Achieved |
On Track |
Too Soon
to Tell |
Not Likely
to Achieve |
Needs
Modification |
| Collect at least $2.5 million in criminal judgments
during FY 2000 including indigent defense costs, costs of incarceration
for DWI offenders, and other fines owed the state. |
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| Complete 2,000 child support enforcement cases in
FY 2000. |
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| Protect Alaskans by prosecuting 1,100 violent felonies,
700 felony drug cases, and 1,800 misdemeanor DV assaults during
FY00. |
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