Originally published in Senate Journal Supplements 47 and 48, Tenth Alaska Legislature (1977–1978).
As of 1975, Alaska’s criminal laws were based primarily on Oregon criminal statutes as they existed at the close of the nineteenth century, with new statutes added and old statutes amended over the succeeding 75 years by Alaska territorial and state legislatures in a piecemeal approach to revision. This resulted in a criminal code containing outdated statutes, obsolete terminology, a number of overly specific statutes, a haphazard approach to mens rea (the culpable mental state with which a defendant must perform an act in order to be convicted of a crime) and the lack of a coherent, rational sentencing structure.
The Alaska Criminal Code Revision Commission was established in 1975 with the responsibility to present a comprehensive revision of Alaska’s criminal code for consideration by the Alaska State Legislature. (The Commission was reestablished in June 1976 as a Subcommission of the newly formed Code Commission.) Staff services for the Criminal Code Revision Commission and Criminal Code Revision Subcommission were provided by the Criminal Justice Center at University of Alaska, Anchorage (John Havelock, project executive director; Barry Jeffrey Stern, reporter/staff counsel; Sheila Gallagher, Reporter/Staff Counsel; and Peter Smith Ring, research director). The tentative draft proposed by the Criminal Code Revision Subcommission was substantially amended by the Alaska State Legislature prior to its approval as the Revised Alaska Criminal Code in June 1978 (effective January 1, 1980).This pamphlet contains the Commentary on the Alaska Revised Criminal Code, which was passed by the Alaska State Legislature in June 1978 with an effective date of January 1, 1980. The revision followed four years of work by the Alaska Criminal Code Commission and Subcommission from 1975 to 1978. The Revised Criminal Code represents the first comprehensive revision of Alaska's criminal laws, which from 1899 to 1979 were primarily based on Oregon criminal statutes as they existed at the close of the nineteenth century. Earlier drafts of the commentary on the Revised Criminal Code may be found in the six-part Tentative Draft of the Code prepared by the Alaska Criminal Law Revision Subcommission during 1977 and 1978.Memorandum from Barry Stern, Staff Counsel, Criminal Law Revision Subommission (12 June 1978) /
Chapter 16. Parties to Crime /
Chapter 31. Attempt and Solicitation /
Chapter 41. Offenses Against the Person /
Chapter 46. Offenses Against Property /
Chapter 51. Offenses Against the Family /
Chapter 56. Offenses Against Public Administration /
Chapter 61. Offenses Against Public Order /
Chapter 66. Offenses Against Public Health and Decency /
Chapter 76. Miscellaneous Offenses /
Chapter 81. General Provisions /
Errat
