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Alaska Supreme Court: Forcing a Defendant to Testify Is Structural Error Requiring Automatic Reversal

Loaded on Feb. 18, 2020 by Douglas Ankney published in Criminal Legal News March, 2020, page 22
Location: Alaska.

by Douglas Ankney

In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Alaska announced that when a trial court forces a defendant to testify at his or her trial, it is a structural error not subject to harmless error analysis but always requires reversal.

Paino Manuel Alvarez-Perdomo was tried ...

 

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More from this issue:

  1. News in Brief
  2. Federal Rules Limit Searches of Private DNA Databases, by Jayson Hawkins
  3. Unsurprisingly Lenient Sentence for Rapist Cop, by Anthony Accurso
  4. Kim Kardashian Keeps Going, Helps Release D.C. Prisoner, by Dale Chappell
  5. Court Rulings Condemning Cash Bail Systems Increasing, by Edward Lyon
  6. More Crooked Cops in New York City Make the Naughty List, by Douglas Ankney
  7. For the Mentally Ill, Calling 911 Could Prove Deadly, by Edward Lyon
  8. Alabama Sheriff Denied Immunity for False Charges Against Whistleblower, by Anthony Accurso
  9. Police Still Have Access to Records That Are Supposedly Sealed, Suit Alleges, by Bill Barton
  10. DNA Contamination Threatened Conviction of Innocent Man, by Kevin Bliss
  11. White Cop Gets 10 Years for Murder; Black Kid Gets 10 Days for Oversleeping, by Douglas Ankney
  12. DA’s Office Files Bar Complaint on Its Own Former Prosecutor, by Anthony Accurso
  13. Tenth Annual NRC Report Magnifies Limits of Forensic Evidence, by Bill Barton
  14. Critics Claim Thin Blue Line Protects Cops and Prosecutors in Orange County, California, by Bill Barton
  15. Study Confirms Immigrants Sentenced More Harshly in Non-Immigrant Areas, by Dale Chappell
  16. Prosecutors Transform Due Process into ‘Dues Processed’, by Douglas Ankney
  17. New Tennessee Legislation Will Destroy Hundreds, Probably Thousands, of Families, by Sandy Rozek
  18. Employers are Adjusting to Hiring Ex-Offenders, by Anthony Accurso
  19. Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Kansas Considers It Acceptable to Listen to Attorney-Client Conversations, by Kevin Bliss
  20. Sixth Circuit Vacates Sentence Because District Court Relied on Uncharged Shooting Allegation for Upward Departure from Sentencing Guidelines Range, by Douglas Ankney
  21. Washington Supreme Court Remands for Resentencing Where State Failed to Prove Criminal History, by Douglas Ankney
  22. Washington Supreme Court Affirms Reversals of Murder Convictions, Overrules Townsend, by Douglas Ankney
  23. Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Announces New Test in Comparing Out-of-State Priors for Sentence Enhancement for Repeat Sex Offenders, by Michael Berk
  24. Vermont Supreme Court Rejects ‘Blanket Rule’ Requiring Fingerprinting in Misdemeanor Cases, by Dale Chappell
  25. Mississippi Supreme Court Abolishes ‘Pre-Arming’ Jury Instruction, by Dale Chappell
  26. Second Circuit Holds Appointment of Counsel for Direct Appeal Not Subject to Frivolousness Rule, by Dale Chappell
  27. Lies by Former Houston Cop Facing Murder Charge Might Affect Over 14,000 Cases, by David M. Reutter
  28. The ‘First Step’ Has Been Taken — What’s Next?, by Dale Chappell
  29. Ninth Circuit Affirms Habeas Relief Where Counsel Failed to Present Mitigating Evidence at Penalty Phase, by Douglas Ankney
  30. Georgia Supreme Court Reverses Conviction for Failure to Give Accomplice-Corroboration Jury Instruction, by Douglas Ankney
  31. California Court of Appeal Invalidates Title 15 § 3490(a)(5) of the California Code of Regulations, by Douglas Ankney
  32. Nevada Supreme Court Announces Rule for When Hearing Required on Fair-Cross-Section of Community Violation Claim in Jury Selection, by Dale Chappell
  33. Ohio Supreme Court Announces State Cannot Raise Fourth Amendment Standing Issue for First Time on Appeal, by Douglas Ankney
  34. Eleventh Circuit Holds Georgia’s Terroristic Threats Statute Not Violent Felony for ACCA, by Dale Chappell
  35. New York Court of Appeals Reverses Conviction Where Trial Court Negotiated Cooperation Agreement with Codefendant, by Anthony Accurso
  36. Nation’s First-Ever Nonprofit Forensics Laboratory Coming to Utah, by Douglas Ankney
  37. Hawai’i Supreme Court: Time Spent in Arizona Prison Counts Toward Speedy Trial Rule in Hawai’i, by Anthony Accurso
  38. Eleventh Circuit: Selling Body Armor Doesn’t Satisfy Sentencing Guidelines’ Definition of ‘Use’, by Douglas Ankney
  39. Fourth Circuit: Magistrate’s Failure to Warn of ACCA Enhancement Was Plain Error, by Douglas Ankney
  40. Ninth Circuit Vacates Unconstitutionally Vague Supervised-Release Conditions, by David M. Reutter
  41. Hawai’i Supreme Court Rules Search Warrant Failed to Satisfy the Particularity Requirement for Multiple-Occupancy Dwellings, by Douglas Ankney
  42. Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court: When Exit Order is Unlawful, Evidence Obtained from Subsequent Search Must be Suppressed, by Douglas Ankney
  43. First Step Act Earned-Time Credits are Coming ... Eventually and Only to Some Prisoners, by Dale Chappell
  44. Alaska Supreme Court: Forcing a Defendant to Testify Is Structural Error Requiring Automatic Reversal, by Douglas Ankney
  45. California Court of Appeal: Electronics Searching Condition Struck in Mandatory Supervision Case, by Anthony Accurso
  46. Nevada Supreme Court: Parole Board May Petition To Modify Life Sentence, by Anthony Accurso
  47. Colorado Supreme Court Clarifies and Modifies Analytical Framework for Proportionality Reviews, by Douglas Ankney
  48. Attacking the Guilty Plea: The ‘Voluntarily and Knowingly Made’ Standard, by Dale Chappell
  49. Hawai’i Supreme Court Announces Degree of ‘Restraint’ Necessary to Support Kidnapping Conviction, by Douglas Ankney
  50. Prosecutorial Misconduct: Justice Denied as the System Turns a Blind Eye, by Christopher Zoukis

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