Abstract
On September 19, 2012 Alaska became the first state in the United States to pass a statute that explicitly allows its judges to reduce a felony sentence for an offender diagnosed with a fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) condition. The statute promised more humane treatment of such offenders and significant cost savings to the state, but this promise has not yet been realized. This chapter explores the developing acceptance of “Smart Justice” in Alaska, some best practices for providing effective services to lower the risk of criminal behavior by persons affected by an FASD condition, and, for those individuals who do get involved in the criminal justice system, analyzes Alaska’s FASD mitigating factor statute, including an outline of reasons for its slow implementation. It is hoped that implementation of positive supports for people affected by FASD will reduce the need to even consider application of a statutory mitigating factor for them.
“Smart Justice” means weighing—in every criminal case—the likely effectiveness of the actions we take.
-Then-Alaska Chief Justice Walter L. Carpeneti (2012).
A lot of people with FASD just need a constant reminder. If we can do that instead of putting them in jail, society is a lot better off and certainly the people with FASD are.
-Alaska Senator Kevin Meyer (2014).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The Alaska Criminal Justice Working Group (CJWG) is comprised of representatives from the Alaska Court System, the Departments of Law, Corrections, Public Safety, Health and Social Services, and Education and Early Development, the Anchorage Police Chief, and the heads of the Public Defender Agency, Office of Public Advocacy, Division of Behavioral Health, Division of Juvenile Justice, and the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority. It is chaired by a justice of the Alaska Supreme Court and the Lieutenant Governor and coordinated and staffed by the Alaska Judicial Council through funding by the Alaska State Legislature. The CJWG has focused on two main aspects of the criminal justice system: crime prevention and reduction of recidivism, and efficiencies in the system. Website: http://justice.uaa.alaska.edu/forum/26/1spring2009/c_cjwg.html.
- 2.
Ch.83, SLA 2014 (eff. 07/14/2014); FASD screening codified at AS 33.30.011(4)(c).
- 3.
Their respective websites are Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), http://www.fasdcenter/samhsa.gov and National Organitzation on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (NOFAS), http://www.nofas.org.
- 4.
The Alaska Criminal Justice Assessment Commission (CJAC) was created in 1997 when the National Institute of Corrections selected the State of Alaska to participate in the federally funded Criminal Justice System Project. The Governor’s Criminal Justice Cabinet sought participation in the project to study the problem of prison overcrowding. Its goal was to bring together legislators and representatives from across the criminal justice system spectrum and members of the public to participate in the review and to collectively develop recommendations to alleviate the problem.
- 5.
Website is http://dhss.gov/adada/Pages/fasd.aspx.
- 6.
The workgroup for the FASD mitigating factor legislation included representatives from the Disability Law Center of Alaska, Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, FASD Legal Issues Resource Center at the University of Washington, Washington State FAS Diagnostic and Prevention Network, an Alaska Superior Court, and others.
References
Alaska Criminal Justice Assessment Commission. 2000. Final Report. www.hss.ajc.state.ak.us/reports/CJACFinal2004.pdf.
Alaska Department of Corrections. 2011. Alaska Prisoner Reentry Task Force, Five-Year Prisoner Reentry Strategic Plan, 2011–2016. http://www.correct.state.ak.us/TskForce/documents/Five-Year%20Prisoner%20Plan.pdf. Accessed Oct 2014.
Alaska Statute 12.55.125(c). 2014 ed.
Alaska Statute 12.55.155(a)(2). 2014 ed.
Alaska Statute 12.55.155(f)(1). 2014 ed.
Alaska Statute 12.55.175. 2014 ed.
Allen, R. 2014. Director of Alaska Office of Public Advocacy. (T. Tibbett, Interviewer).
American Bar Association. 2012. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/mental_physical_disability/Resolution_112B.autcheckdam.pdf. Accessed Oct 2014.
Canadian Bar Association. 2010. hpps://www.cba.org/cba/resolutions/pdf/10-02-A.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2015.
Carpeneti, W.L. 2012. State of the Judiciary 2012. http://courts.alaska.gov/soj/state12.pdf. Accessed Oct 2014.
Edwards, W.J. 2014. Deputy Public Defender, Mental Health Branch, Los Angeles County Office of the Public Defender. (T. Tibbett, Interviewer).
Erickson, J. 2014. Former Probation Officer and Case Manager for the Juneau Coordinated Resources Project. Juneau, AK, USA.
Evensen, D. 2014. MA, Director, Fetal Alcohol Consultation and Training Services (FACTS). (T. Tibbett, Interviewer).
Fraser, C. 2008. Summary Report, Conference on the Path to Justice–Access to Justice for Individuals with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. http://www.justice.gov.yk.ca/pdf/Path_to_Justice_Conference_Final_Report_Eng.pdf. Accessed 12 Oct 2014.
Gutierrez, C. 2015. 2015 Recidivism reduction plan. Alaska Department of Corrections. www.correct.state.ak.us/commish/docs/HB266%20-%20Recidivism%20Reduction%20Plan%20%20Report%20(2015).pdf. Accessed 13 April 2015.
Hornby Zeller Associates. 2014. Trust Beneficiaries in Alaska’s Department of Corrections. http://www.mhtrust.org/layouts/files/documents/focus_DisabilityJustice/ADOC%20TrustBeneficiaries%20May%202014%20FINAL%%20PRINT.pdf. Accessed Oct 2015.
Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER). 2009. Research Summary: The Cost of Crime: Can the State Reduce Future Crime and Save Money By Expanding Education and Treatment Programs? http://correct.ak.us/TskForce/an2009/documents/ISERResearchSummary.pdf. Accessed 12 April 2015.
Jeffery, M.I. 2010. An Arctic Judge’s Journey With FASD. The Journal of Psychiatry and the Law 38(Winter): 585–618.
Kelly, P. 2014. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Alaska report to Alaska State Senate Health and Social Services Finance Subcommittee. http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_documents.asp?session=28&docid=18982. Accessed Oct 2015.
Meyer, K. 2014. (T. Tibbett, Interviewer).
Office of National Drug Control Policy. 2011. Criminal Justice Brief Alternatives to Incarceration. Executive Office of the President. http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/Fact_Sheets/alternatives_to_incarceration_policy_brief_8-12-11.pdf. Accessed 14 April 2015.
Pallenberg, P. 2014. Judge. (M. Jeffery, Interviewer).
Skidmore, J. 2014. Director, Criminal Division, Alaska Department of Law. (T. Tibbett, Interviewer).
State v. Leavitt, MO&J No. 2453, 1992 WL 12153213 (Alaska App. 06 30, 1992).
Steiner, Q. 2014. Public Defender. (T. Tibbett, Interviewer).
Streissguth, A.B. 1996. Understanding the Occurrence of Secondary Disabilities in Clients with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE). University of Washington: University of Washington. Seattle.
Wooliver, D. 2014. Deputy Administrative Director, Alaska Court System.
Additional Resources
Edwards, William J., and Stephen Greenspan. 2010. Adaptive behavior and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Journal of Psychiatry and Law. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/migrated/2011_build/child_law/adaptive_behavior_and_fasd.authcheckdam.pdf.
American Bar Association Section of Litigation and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education. (2012). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: What You Need To Know to Help Your Client. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/litigation_committees/childrights/l12juncm1.authcheckdam.pdf.
Wartnik, Anthony P. 2007. Stopping the Revolving Door of the Justice Systems-Ten Principles for Sentencing Other Disposition of People with a FASD. http://www.uwcita.org/fetal-alcohol-spectrum-disorder.html.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Tibbett, T., Jeffery, M.I. (2016). Smart Justice and FASD in Alaska: From Prevention to Sentence Mitigation. In: Nelson, M., Trussler, M. (eds) Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders in Adults: Ethical and Legal Perspectives. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 63. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20866-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20866-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20865-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-20866-4
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)