(a) Except as limited by Alaska Stat. § 12.55.125 – 12.55.175, the court, in imposing sentence on a defendant convicted of an offense, may singly or in combination

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Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 12.55.015

  • Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • peace officer: means
    (A) an officer of the state troopers. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association, organization, business trust, or society, as well as a natural person. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • property: includes real and personal property. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(1) impose a fine when authorized by law and as provided in Alaska Stat. § 12.55.035;
(2) order the defendant to be placed on probation under conditions specified by the court that may include provision for active supervision;
(3) impose a definite term of periodic imprisonment, but only if an employment obligation of the defendant preexisted sentencing and the defendant receives a composite sentence of not more than two years to serve;
(4) impose a definite term of continuous imprisonment;
(5) order the defendant to make restitution under Alaska Stat. § 12.55.045;
(6) order the defendant to carry out a continuous or periodic program of community work under Alaska Stat. § 12.55.055;
(7) suspend execution of all or a portion of the sentence imposed under Alaska Stat. § 12.55.080;
(8) suspend entry of judgment under Alaska Stat. § 12.55.078 or suspend imposition of sentence under Alaska Stat. § 12.55.085;
(9) order the forfeiture to the commissioner of public safety or a municipal law enforcement agency of a deadly weapon that was in the actual possession of or used by the defendant during the commission of an offense described in Alaska Stat. Chapter 11.41, Alaska Stat. Chapter 11.46, Alaska Stat. Chapter 11.56, or Alaska Stat. Chapter 11.61;
(10) order the defendant, while incarcerated, to participate in or comply with the treatment plan of a rehabilitation program that is related to the defendant’s offense or to the defendant’s rehabilitation if the program is made available to the defendant by the Department of Corrections;
(11) order the forfeiture to the state of a motor vehicle, weapon, electronic communication device, or money or other valuables, used in or obtained through an offense that was committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a criminal street gang;
(12) order the defendant to have no contact, either directly or indirectly, with a victim or witness of the offense until the defendant is unconditionally discharged;
(13) order the defendant to refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages for a period of time.
(b) The court, in exercising sentencing discretion as provided in this chapter, shall impose a sentence involving imprisonment when

(1) the defendant deserves to be imprisoned, considering the seriousness of the present offense and the defendant’s prior criminal history, and imprisonment is equitable considering sentences imposed for other offenses and other defendants under similar circumstances;
(2) imprisonment is necessary to protect the public from further harm by the defendant; or
(3) sentences of lesser severity have been repeatedly imposed for substantially similar offenses in the past and have proven ineffective in deterring the defendant from further criminal conduct.
(c) In addition to the penalties authorized by this section, the court may invoke any authority conferred by law to order a forfeiture of property, suspend or revoke a license, remove a person from office, or impose any other civil penalty. When forfeiting property under this subsection, a court may award to a municipal law enforcement agency that participated in the arrest or conviction of the defendant, the seizure of property, or the identification of property for seizure, (1) the property if the property is worth $5,000 or less and is not money or some other thing that is divisible, or (2) up to 75 percent of the property or the value of the property if the property is worth more than $5,000 or is money or some other thing that is divisible. In determining the percentage a municipal law enforcement agency may receive under this subsection, the court shall consider the municipal law enforcement agency’s total involvement in the case relative to the involvement of the state.
(d)[Repealed, Sec. 1 ch 188 SLA 1990.]
(e) If the defendant is ordered to serve a definite term of imprisonment, the court may recommend that the defendant serve all or part of the term

(1) in a correctional restitution center;
(2) by electronic monitoring.
(f) Notwithstanding (a) of this section, the court shall order the forfeiture to the commissioner of public safety or a municipal law enforcement agency of a deadly weapon that was in the actual possession of or used by the defendant during the commission of a crime involving domestic violence.
(g) Unless a defendant is ineligible for a deduction under Alaska Stat. Chapter 33.20, when a defendant is sentenced to a term of imprisonment of two years or more, the sentence consists of two parts:

(1) a minimum term of imprisonment that is equal to not less than two-thirds of the total term of imprisonment; and
(2) a maximum term of supervised release on mandatory parole that is equal to not more than one-third of the total term of imprisonment; the amount of time that the inmate actually serves in imprisonment and on supervised release is subject to the provisions of Alaska Stat. § 33.20.010 – 33.20.060.
(h) In addition to penalties authorized by this section, the court shall order a person convicted of an offense requiring the state to collect a blood sample, oral sample, or both, for the deoxyribonucleic acid identification registration system under Alaska Stat. § 44.41.035 to submit to the collection of

(1) the sample or samples when requested by a health care professional acting on behalf of the state to provide the sample or samples; or
(2) an oral sample when requested by a juvenile or adult correctional, probation, or parole officer, or a peace officer.
(i) In addition to penalties authorized by this section, the court may order a defendant convicted of a violation of Alaska Stat. § 11.41.410 or 11.41.434 where the victim of the offense was under 13 years of age to be subject to electronic monitoring up to the maximum length of probation on the person’s release from a correctional facility.
(j) Nothing in (a)(13) of this section limits or restricts the authority of a court to order a person to refrain from the consumption of alcohol as a condition of sentence or probation.
(k) In making a determination under (a)(12) of this section for a defendant convicted of a crime involving a sex offense as defined in Alaska Stat. § 12.63.100 or a crime involving domestic violence as defined in Alaska Stat. § 18.66.990, there is a presumption that, unless the court finds on the record that contact between a defendant and the victim of the offense is necessary, the court shall order the defendant to have no contact, either directly or indirectly, with the victim until the defendant is unconditionally discharged.
(l) In this section “deadly weapon” has the meaning given in Alaska Stat. § 11.81.900.
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