AB&M Enterprises, Inc. v. State of Alaska
Alaska Court of Appeals
389 P.3d 863 (2016)
- Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
Facts
Bar owner AB&M Enterprises, security guard Murville Lampkin, and his supervisor George Damassiotis (defendants) were all convicted of fourth-degree assault after Damassiotis allegedly encouraged Lampkin to assault an unruly bar patron. AB&M ran the Rumrunners Old Towne Bar and Grill in downtown Anchorage. After patron Johnny Brown assaulted Lampkin, security staff subdued and handcuffed Brown. Lampkin and Damassiotis, who was head of security for Rumrunners, decided to take Brown to the security office in the basement. As they got in the elevator, Damassiotis told Lampkin something like “Go for it,” or “There are no cameras in here; he is all yours.” Lampkin then sucker-punched Brown in the face without warning, fracturing his eye socket. AB&M was charged under an Alaska statute that allowed conviction of a corporation for a crime solicited by the corporation. However, the trial judge never directly instructed the jury what “solicited by the corporation” meant. Instead, the judge told the jury in a combination of jury instructions and answers to questions during deliberations that a corporation solicits a crime if any officer or employee of the corporation solicited that crime. AB&M appealed its conviction arguing the judge instructed the jury incorrectly.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Mannheimer, J.)
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