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By A Public Defender's Life in Alaska

So, why do I love life in Alaska so much? It isn't just the magnificent setting, the outdoor activities or the wide open spaces. Sometimes, just sometimes, it is also the law. Like yesterday when the Court of Appeals ruled in State v. Brown, which can be found here: http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ops/ap-2157.pdf. When I lived in California, the courts and the legislature (at the urging of the people) were as busy as possible restricting the rights of the people. It was just awful. For example, in California one can never have more rights than those guaranteed by the federal constitution. The law is exactly the opposite in Alaska. The federal constitution is the floor on rights. So yesterday the court ruled on consent searches. It is beautiful. Based on the facts in that case the Court ruled that "the officer conducting the traffic stop was prohibited from requesting Brown?s permission to conduct a search that was (1) unrelated to the basis for the stop and (2) not otherwise supported by a reasonable suspicion of criminality." Those of you who are criminal lawyers may get tears when you read that. I can tell you that every criminal lawyer I know in Alaska was talking about this case yesterday. Somehow, just for a moment, our job seemed less hopeless. Those of you who live in Alaska should breath a sigh of relief that the Court is still sometimes capable of protecting your rights. Those of you who live Outside. Well. You're screwed.

Full post as published by A Public Defender's Life in Alaska on April 19, 2008 (boomark / email).