{"data":{"id":"us-ak/as-12.61.010","jurisdiction":"us-ak","citation":"AS 12.61.010","heading":"Rights of crime victims.","body":"(a) Victims of crimes have the following rights:\n(1) the right to be present during any proceeding in\n(A) the prosecution and sentencing of a defendant if the defendant has the right to be present, including being present during testimony even if the victim is likely to be called as a witness;\n(B) the adjudication of a minor as provided under AS 47.12.110;\n(2) the right to be notified by the appropriate law enforcement agency or the prosecuting attorney of any request for a continuance that may substantially delay the prosecution and of the date of trial, sentencing, including a proceeding before a three-judge panel under AS 12.55.175, an appeal, and any hearing in which the defendant's release from custody is considered;\n(3) the right to be notified that a sentencing hearing or a court proceeding to which the victim has been subpoenaed will not occur as scheduled;\n(4) the right to receive protection from harm and threats of harm arising out of cooperation with law enforcement and prosecution efforts and to be provided with information as to the protection available;\n(5) the right to be notified of the procedure to be followed to apply for and receive any compensation under AS 18.67;\n(6) at the request of the prosecution or a law enforcement agency, the right to cooperate with the criminal justice process without loss of pay and other employee benefits except as authorized by AS 12.61.017 and without interference in any form by the employer of the victim of crime;\n(7) the right to obtain access to immediate medical assistance and not to be detained for an unreasonable length of time by a law enforcement agency before having medical assistance administered; however, an employee of the law enforcement agency may, if necessary, accompany the person to a medical facility to question the person about the criminal incident if the questioning does not hinder the administration of medical assistance;\n(8) the right to make a written or oral statement for use in preparation of the presentence report of a felony defendant;\n(9) the right to appear personally at the defendant's sentencing hearing to present a written statement and to give sworn testimony or an unsworn oral presentation;\n(10) the right to be informed by the prosecuting attorney, at any time after the defendant's conviction, about the complete record of the defendant's convictions;\n(11) the right to notice under AS 12.47.095 concerning the status of the defendant found not guilty by reason of insanity;\n(12) the right to notice under AS 33.16.087 of a hearing concerning special medical parole of the defendant;\n(13) the right to notice under AS 33.16.120 of a hearing to consider or review discretionary parole of the defendant;\n(14) the right to notice under AS 33.30.013 of the release or escape of the defendant; and\n(15) the right to be notified orally and in writing of and receive information about the office of victims' rights from the law enforcement officer initially investigating the crime and from the prosecuting attorney assigned to the offense; at a minimum, the information provided must include the address, telephone number, and Internet address of the office of victims' rights; this paragraph\n(A) applies only to victims of felonies and to victims of class A misdemeanors if the class A misdemeanor is a crime involving domestic violence or a crime against a person under AS 11.41; if the victim is an unemancipated minor, the law enforcement officer and the prosecuting attorney shall also provide the notice required by this paragraph to the parent or guardian of the minor;\n(B) is satisfied if, at the time of initial contact with the crime victim, the investigating officer and prosecuting attorney each give each crime victim a brochure or other written material prepared by the office of victims' rights and provided to law enforcement agencies for that purpose.\n(b) Law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, corrections agencies, social services agencies, and the courts shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that victims of crimes have the rights set out in (a) of this section. However, a failure to ensure these rights does not give rise to a separate cause of action against law enforcement agencies, other agencies of the state, or a political subdivision of the state.\n(a) If a victim of a felony, a sex offense as defined in AS 12.63.100, or a crime involving domestic violence requests, the prosecuting attorney shall make a reasonable effort to\n(1) confer with the person against whom the offense has been perpetrated about that person's testimony before the defendant's trial;\n(2) in a manner reasonably calculated to give prompt actual notice, notify the victim\n(A) of the defendant's conviction and the crimes of which the defendant was convicted;\n(B) of the victim's right in a case that is a felony to make a written or oral statement for use in preparation of the defendant's presentence report, and of the victim's right to appear personally at the defendant's sentencing hearing to present a written statement and to give sworn testimony or an unsworn oral presentation;\n(C) of the address and telephone number of the office that will prepare the presentence report; and\n(D) of the time and place of the sentencing proceeding;\n(3) notify the victim in writing of the final disposition of the case within 30 days after final disposition of the case;\n(4) confer with the victim or the victim's legal guardian concerning a proposed plea agreement before entering into the plea agreement to ask the victim or the victim's legal guardian whether the victim is in agreement with the proposed plea agreement; the prosecuting attorney shall record whether the victim or the victim's legal guardian is in agreement with the proposed plea agreement;\n(5) inform the victim of a pending motion that may substantially delay the prosecution and inform the court of the victim's position on the motion; in this paragraph, a “substantial delay” is\n(A) for a misdemeanor, a delay of one month or longer;\n(B) for a felony, a delay of two months or longer; and\n(C) for an appeal, a delay of six months or longer.\n(b) The notice given under (a)(2) of this section must inform the victim that the statement, sworn testimony, or unsworn oral presentation of the victim may contain any relevant information including\n(1) an explanation of the nature and extent of physical, psychological, or emotional harm or trauma suffered by the victim;\n(2) an explanation of the extent of economic loss or property damage suffered by the victim;\n(3) an opinion of the need for and extent of restitution and whether the victim has applied for or received compensation for loss or damage; and\n(4) the recommendation of the victim for an appropriate sentence.\n(c) The state and the prosecuting attorney may not be held liable in damages for any failure to comply with the requirements of this section.\n(d) The court may reschedule a hearing to consider a plea agreement as needed to allow additional time to comply with the victim notification requirements under (a)(2) and (4) of this section.\n(e) Nothing in this section requires a victim or a victim's legal guardian to provide a response to a prosecuting attorney regarding a plea agreement or requires the prosecuting attorney to be bound by the victim's or legal guardian's response regarding the plea agreement.\n(f) The prosecuting attorney shall notify a victim of a sex offense as defined in AS 12.63.100 or crime involving domestic violence as defined in AS 18.66.990 if, before trial, the offender of the victim is discharged from a treatment program for noncompliance.","path":["Title 12. Code of Criminal Procedure.","Chapter 61. Rights of Victims; Protection of Victims and Witnesses."],"source_url":"https://www.akleg.gov/basis/statutes.asp#12.61.010","current_through":"Alaska Statutes 2025 (34th Legislature, 2025-2026)","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-02T06:16:46Z","sha256":"45f9b991b2443849e53b927a5603bc86f5a70a9422f6d964c284191341a44ad0","source_id":"us-ak","stale":false,"prev":"us-ak/as-12.60.240","next":"us-ak/as-12.61.016"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}