Alaska’s Supreme Court has introduced new restrictions on the duration of delays in criminal cases, aiming to decrease the waiting time for criminal defendants to go to trial in the state. The court’s order, effective May 12, instructs state judges to allow no more than 270 days of additional delays for criminal cases filed in 2022 or earlier. Approximately 800 active cases are affected, each being over 800 days old presently.
This decision follows an investigation by ProPublica and the Anchorage Daily News, which revealed that some cases have taken up to a decade to reach a jury, potentially violating the rights of both victims and defendants. In the past decade, the time to resolve Alaska’s most serious felony cases, including murder and sexual assault, has nearly tripled. Advocates for victims’ rights have long criticized judges for permitting delays, particularly in Anchorage, where about half of the cases affected by the Supreme Court order remain pending. Some cases have been so delayed that victims or witnesses have died in the meantime.
Beyond limiting the duration of delays, the Supreme Court’s order requires judges to justify why any delay requests are granted. State Senator Matt Claman, chair of the Judiciary Committee, which reviewed pretrial delays in February, described it as a positive step that would help lawyers move cases forward. Rebecca Koford, spokesperson for the Alaska Court System, stated that the new Supreme Court order, issued on March 12, addresses the “most pressing concern.” She emphasized the need to resolve those older cases quickly since the time required is extremely lengthy.
According to the order, judges handling pre-2023 cases may only permit 90 days of new delays at the request of the defense, 90 days for prosecutors, and another 90 days for “good cause” delays. Koford explained that an example of a “good cause” delay might be the temporary unavailability of a witness. She also noted that additional efforts are underway to reduce trial wait times.
Alaska’s criminal rules grant defendants the right to trial within 120 days of charging. Meanwhile, crime victims are entitled to the “timely disposition” of their cases under the state’s constitution. However, the 120-day deadline is seldom met. One highlighted sexual assault case, filed in 2014, has been postponed over 70 times and is set for trial on April 1.
Since January, multiple high-ranking state officials have called for reducing delays, following the focus brought on by the news organizations. Chief Justice Susan M. Carney informed state lawmakers on February 12 that efforts to curb trial delays were underway, taking note of the media attention. The Senate Judiciary Committee subsequently held a hearing on pretrial delays, where Nancy Meade, General Counsel for the court system, remarked that the cases spotlighted in recent stories were unacceptable but not typical of all criminal cases.
Meade further testified that the resolution time of cases has indeed grown longer compared to 20 years ago, a situation that satisfies no one. The new order, signed by Carney and other justices from the Alaska Supreme Court, notes some reduction in “persistent backlogs” due to an earlier 2023 judicial order and aims to accelerate the disposition time for older cases without undue delay. Additionally, it addresses delays stemming from attorneys’ failure to promptly provide evidence to the opposition, suggesting sanctions such as dismissing charges or excluding the missing evidence if prosecutors delay in providing evidence.
