This article was created for Propublica’s local reporting network in collaboration with Anchorage Daily News. Sign up for Dispatch to get stories like this as soon as it is published.
The Alaska Supreme Court has set new restrictions on how long criminal cases can be delayed, part of an effort to reduce the time many criminal defendants have to wait for trial in the state.
The court’s order, effective May 12, directs state judges to allow new delays within 270 days of criminal cases filed prior to 2022. According to data from the court system, around 800 active cases fall into that category, each counting over 800 days.
The move to reduce delays follows an investigation by Propublica and Anchorage Daily News, which has taken several cases to reach the ju apprentice, and could similarly violate the rights of the victim and defendant.
Over the past decade, it has almost tripled when solving Alaska’s most serious felony cases, including murder and sexual assault. Victims’ rights advocates complained that judges, particularly at anchorages, would review the delays stamped by rubber. Some cases were dragged so long that the victims and witnesses died during that time.
In addition to limiting the duration of delays, the state Supreme Court order states that the judge must explain why he allowed the request for delays.
“It’s a positive step by the courts to work with lawyers to move the case,” said state Sen. Matt Kraman, state Sen. D-Anchorage, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, which held a hearing on delayed trials in February.
Alaska’s court system spokesman Rebecca Coford said the new Supreme Court order issued on March 12 addresses “the most pressing concerns.”
The time required to close the oldest cases is “very long,” she said, “and we need to solve them.”
The Supreme Court order said judges in cases prior to 2023 would allow 90 days of new delays at the defense’s request, 90 days for prosecutors and 90 days for “other delay periods for justice.”
Coford said that is an example of why a case is delayed for good reasons if a witness is unable to testify temporarily. Additional efforts are being made to reduce the time it takes for cases to go to court, she said.
“We don’t see it as a solution. It’s part of the solution,” Coford said.
Alaska Criminal Rules grant the right to trial within 120 days of being charged with a defendant for the crime. Crime victims have the right to the “timely nature” of their case under the state constitution.
The 120-day deadline is rare. One sexual assault case highlighted by Daily News and Propublica was filed in 2014 and was delayed more than 70 times. The case is currently set to court on April 1st.
Since news organizations highlighted the issue in January, several high-ranking state officials have spoken about the need to keep the delays down.
Judge Susan M. Carney told state lawmakers on February 12 that the court system was working to curb the delays, noting recent reports of issues. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing later that month focused on pretrial delays, with court system adviser Nancy Mead telling Congress that the cases highlighted in a recent news article are unacceptable, but are outliers among criminal cases.
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“It certainly takes longer to resolve a case than it was 20 years ago. No one is happy about it,” Mead testified.
The new order, signed by Carney and other Alaska Supreme Court judges, said the 2023 judicial order led to “some reduction” of what the court characterized as a “permanent backlog.” The current order “is intended to promote further reductions in the time to dispose of these old criminal cases without undue delay,” the court said.
The order also addresses delays caused when the lawyer cannot provide evidence to the other side in a timely manner. If prosecutors do not provide evidence or prohibit evidence that is lacking in use in court, the judge says sanctions, including dismissal of the charges, should be considered.
