Advancing Tribal Court Criminal Jurisdiction In Alaska

Extensive case law already exists in Alaska on the jurisdiction of tribal courts over domestic relations cases, with one of the seminal cases—John v. Baker—establishing that Alaska tribes have jurisdiction even in the absence of Indian country. A common assumption, though, is that Alaska tribes do not have jurisdiction over criminal offenses. This Article argues that both under the logic of John v. Baker and the development of Indian law in the Lower 48, Alaska tribes already possess inherent jurisdiction over criminal offenses within their Native villages. With the gamut of social challenges facing Alaska Natives in rural Alaska, tribes need to be empowered to exercise this jurisdiction

Key Acts and Cases for Alaska Tribal Court Jurisdiction

This article provides an annotated survey of Alaska and federal case law and statutes tracing the development of tribal court jurisdiction in Alaska.Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) (1971) / Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) (1978) / Native Village of Nenana v. State of Alaska, 722 P.2d 219 (Alaska 1986) / Native Village of Venetie I.R.A. Council v. State of Alaska, 944 F.2d 548 (9th Cir. 1991) / Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act (1994) / State of Alaska v. Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, 522 U.S. 520 (1998) / John v. Baker, 982 P.2d 738 (Alaska 1999) / In the Matter of: C.R.H., 29 P.3d 849 (Alaska 2001) / Kaltag Tribal Council v. Jackson, 344 Fed. Appx 324 (9th Cir. 2009) / State of Alaska v. Native Village of Tanana, 249 P.3d 734 (Alaska 2011) / McCrary v. Ivanof Bay Village, 265 P.3d 337 (Alaska 2011) / Simmonds v. Parks, 329 P.3d 995 (Alaska 2014)Ye

Survey of Tribal Court Effectiveness Studies

This article examines empirical studies that have been conducted on the effectiveness of tribal courts, both in terms of reduction in recidivism and participant attitudes, and a look at some of the challenges to implementing a tribal court effectiveness study in Alaska.[Introduction] / Alaska at a Glance / Studies of Effectiveness of Tribal Courts / Studies Conducted Throughout the Contiguous United States / Studies Conducted in Alaska / Additional Studies of Tribal Courts / The Need for More Research and Identified Obstacles to Overcome / Tribal Court Jurisdiction / Alaska’s Challenging Geography / Minor Consuming Alcohol as a Quantitative Measure / Conclusion / [SIDEBAR:] Tribal Court Studies — ReferencesYe

A Survey of Studies on Judicial Selection

The Alaska legislature is considering a bill — Senate Joint Resolution 3 — that would put before voters a state constitutional amendment to change the composition of the Alaska Judicial Council and the way its members are selected. The Alaska Judicial Council plays a constitutionally-mandated role in the selection of Alaska’s judges and also makes recommendations to voters concerning retaining or not retaining judges as part of the judicial retention election process. This article reviews selected existing studies relevant to potential effects of this proposed change to the council composition — studies that examined judicial effectiveness, responsiveness of judges to public opinion, and public perception of judges. Also provided are flowcharts of the selection processes for members of the Alaska Judicial Council and of judges of the Alaska Court System; a detailed table of judicial selection methods in U.S. states and the District of Columbia; and a bibliography.Studies on Nominating Commissions / Measures of Voter Satisfaction / Objective Measures of Judicial Performance / Complexity of Judicial Decisions / Judicial Productivity and Independence / Politicization of Judicial Elections / Conclusion / Resources on Judicial Selection (bibliography) / References (bibliography)Ye

Alaska Trial Court Case Filing Statistics, 2005–2012

This fact sheet describe case filings, caseloads, and types of cases filed in Alaska’s trial courts (Superior Court and District Court) during fiscal years (FY) 2005–2012. Data were extracted from Alaska Court System annual statistical reports. The report examines data on case filings, caseloads, and types of cases filed in Superior and District courts.Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of JusticeSuperior Court Filings / Superior Court Caseloads / Types of Cases / District Court Filings / District Court Caseloads / Types of Cases / Not

A College Student's Guide to Landlord/Tenant Relations in Alaska

This guide for Alaska students preparing to rent an apartment gives answers to essential questions about renting an apartment, tenant rights, and landlord/tenant law in Alaska. The guide, structured in a question and answer format, covers renting an apartment, leases and subleases, living in the apartment, problems with the apartment, landlord powers, evictions, moving out, and public housing. The guide expands upon the "Housing" chapter (https://www.alaskabar.org/servlet/content/entering_the_real_world.html#Housing) for the Alaska Bar Association web publication Alaska Youth Law Guilde: A Handbook for Teens and Young Adults (https://www.alaskabar.org/servlet/content/youth_law_guide.html).Renting an Apartment / Leases and Subleases / Living in the Apartment / Problems with the Apartment / Landlord Powers / Evictions / Moving Out / Public Housin

Modeling with the Crowd: Optimizing the Human-Machine Partnership with Zooniverse

LSST and Euclid must address the daunting challenge of analyzing the unprecedented volumes of imaging and spectroscopic data that these next-generation instruments will generate. A promising approach to overcoming this challenge involves rapid, automatic image processing using appropriately trained Deep Learning (DL) algorithms. However, reliable application of DL requires large, accurately labeled samples of training data. Galaxy Zoo Express (GZX) is a recent experiment that simulated using Bayesian inference to dynamically aggregate binary responses provided by citizen scientists via the Zooniverse crowd-sourcing platform in real time. The GZX approach enables collaboration between human and machine classifiers and provides rapidly generated, reliably labeled datasets, thereby enabling online training of accurate machine classifiers. We present selected results from GZX and show how the Bayesian aggregation engine it uses can be extended to efficiently provide object-localization and bounding-box annotations of two-dimensional data with quantified reliability. DL algorithms that are trained using these annotations will facilitate numerous panchromatic data modeling tasks including morphological classification and substructure detection in direct imaging, as well as decontamination and emission line identification for slitless spectroscopy. Effectively combining the speed of modern computational analyses with the human capacity to extrapolate from few examples will be critical if the potential of forthcoming large-scale surveys is to be realized.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure. To appear in Proceedings of the International Astronomical Unio

Progress on indium and barium single ion optical frequency standards

We report progress on 115In+ and 137Ba+ single ion optical frequency standards using all solid-state sources. Both are free from quadrupole field shifts and together enable a search for drift in fundamental constants.Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure, submitted to IEEE/LEOS Summer 2005 Topicals conference proceeding

A Method for Measuring the 6S1/2↔5D3/26S_{1/2} \leftrightarrow 5D_{3/2} Magnetic Dipole Transition Moment in {Ba}+^{+}

We propose a method for measuring the magnetic dipole (M1) transition moment of the $6S_{1/2} \big(\mathrm{m}=-1/2\big)\leftrightarrow 5D_{3/2}\big(\mathrm{m}=-1/2\big)$ transition in single trapped Ba$^{+}$ by exploiting different symmetries in the electric quadrupole (E2) and M1 couplings between the states. The technique is adapted from a previously proposed method for measuring atomic parity nonconservation in a single trapped ion [Norval Fortson, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{70}, 17 (1993)]. Knowledge of M1 is crucial for any parity nonconservation measurement in Ba$^{+}$, as laser coupling through M1 can mimic the parity-violating signal. The magnetic moment for the transition has been calculated by atomic theory and found to be dominated by electron-electron correlation effects [B.K. Sahoo et. al., Phys. Rev. A \textbf{74}, 6 (2006)]. To date the value has not been verified experimentally. This proposed measurement is therefore an essential step toward a parity nonconservation experiment in the ion that will also test current many-body theory. The technique can be adapted for similar parity nonconservation experiments using other atomic ions, where the magnetic dipole moment could present similar complications