Three people detained in Alaska pretrial appealed the lower court denial of their applications for a second or subsequent bail review hearing. In each case, the lower court determined that the current COVID-19 pandemic was not “new information” justifying a bail review hearing under Alaska Law and declined to hold a hearing. The detainees challenged the lower court ruling and the appellate court consolidated their appeals for decision. The appellate court concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic qualified as “new information” for purposes of Alaska Law, and that the trial courts erred in declining to grant the appellants bail review hearings.
Karr v. State, 459 P.3d 1183 (Alaska App. 2020)
DETAILS
Decision
Date
3/24/2020
Practice Area
Criminal (State Charges)
Relief Requested
Bond Hearing, Release
Type of Court
Federal District Court
Type of Court
State Appellate Court
Location
Alaska
Type of Case
Individual
Case Characteristics
Elderly, Post-Conviction Detention [jail or prison], Pre-Existing Health Conditions, Pretrial Detention [jail]
Compassionate Release Case
No
Compassionate Release Specific Characteristics
Has a significant criminal history
Case Tracking Number
A-13630/A-13639/A-13640
MORE CASE INFORMATION
Court Name
D.S.C.
Court Name
The Court of Appeals of the State of Alaska
Decision
Motion Granted
Place of Incarceration
Local / County Jail
Legal Authority
Bail Reform Act, Bail Pending Sentence or Appeal, 18 U.S.C. § 3143, Bail Reform Act, Bail Pending Trial, 18 U.S.C. § 3142, First Step Act Exhaustion, First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), Other, Mandatory Detention Act of 1990
Crowdsourced legal documents from around the country related to COVID-19 and incarceration, organized, collected, and summarized for public defenders, litigators, and other advocates. Created and managed by Bronx Defenders, Columbia Law School’s Center for Institutional and Social Change, UCLA Law COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project, and Zealous. Mostly federal court opinions, but now expanding to states and legal filings, declarations, and exhibits.
This resource is designed to help lawyers, advocates, researchers, journalists, and others interested in challenging, remedying, or drawing attention to the grave risk that Covid-19 poses to individuals who are detained.