Alaska Supreme Court Protects Right to Fair Trial, Strikes Down Portions of Victims’ Rights Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October
30, 2007
Contact: Jason
Brandeis (907) 250-8503 (cell); Sharon
Legenza (907) 258-0044 (office)
ANCHORAGE--The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska Foundation lauds last Friday’s Alaska Supreme Court ruling striking down parts of a state law that infringed on the right of those accused of a crime to receive a fair trial. In State of Alaska v. Murtagh, et al. the Court held:
"We are very pleased that the court recognized that both the prosecutor and defense serve the public interest of seeking justice -- albeit from different directions," said Susan Orlansky, a partner at the Anchorage law firm of Feldman, Orlansky & Sanders and cooperating counsel for the ACLU of Alaska. "Anything that inhibits the ability of the defense to investigate, by definition, will make it harder to ensure that innocent people aren’t wrongly convicted."
This case was originally filed by the ACLU of Alaska in 1997 to challenge portions of the Alaska Victims Rights Act, enacted in 1991 and amended in 1996, aimed at shielding crime victims and witnesses from criminal defense investigators. The plaintiffs in the case were defense attorneys and investigators who said that the laws prevented them from adequately investigating the charges against their clients because it placed restrictions on them that were not placed on prosecuting attorneys and investigators. After a lengthy pre-trial period, the case finally went to trial in November 2004. In May of 2005, Superior Court Judge Sen Tan expressed concern over several of the one-sided provisions of the law and ruled them unconstitutional.
Because Judge Tan’s decision invalidated some portions of the statute and upheld others, both sides appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court. Last Friday, the Court agreed with the plaintiffs’ arguments on appeal and struck down all of the challenged provisions as a violation of the right to a fair trial guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Alaska Constitution.
The Supreme Court stressed the importance of the constitutional right to a fair trial, requiring that “statutes asserting the rights of victims and witnesses conflict to the least degree reasonably possible with the rights of defendants.” The Court also noted that a balance must be struck between the procedural due process rights of defendants and the rights of victims and witnesses, ruling that where possible, such statutes must apply to both the prosecution and defense so they do not unduly advantage either side. As the Court wrote, “justice is more likely to be achieved ‘if both sides have an equal opportunity to interview the persons who have the information from which the truth may be determined.’”
In reaching its decision, the Court carefully considered whether the interests served by the statute were of sufficient weight to justify the limitations the Act placed on criminal defendants’ fair trial rights, the likelihood the statute would achieve its purpose, and whether the purpose could be achieved in another way that did not impede fair trial rights. “The prosecution should not have an unfair advantage in investigating crimes,” said Jason Brandeis, Staff Attorney for the ACLU of Alaska. “ This decision strikes the right balance between protecting a defendant’s fundamental right to a fair trial while still respecting the important concerns for victims of serious crimes.”
Press Note: A copy of the decision in State of Alaska v. Murtagh, et al. is available on the Alaska Court System website at: http://www.state.ak.us/courts/sp.htm.
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