Brooks v. Wright
Alaska Supreme Court
971 P.2d 1025 (1999)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Alaska Lieutenant Governor Fran Ulmer certified a ballot initiative that would, if passed, criminalize the use of snares to trap wolves. A ballot initiative is a form of direct democracy through which citizens directly vote on proposed laws. Patrick Wright (defendant), along with other Alaskan citizens and local community organizations, sued the State of Alaska (plaintiff) in superior court to challenge the ballot initiative, arguing that (1) the Alaska Constitution created a public-trust in which the state was the trustee and Alaskan citizens were the beneficiaries; (2) applying private-trust principles, the public-trust gave Alaska, as trustee, exclusive power to manage trust assets through its legislative branch; and (3) because the legislature had exclusive law-making authority over public-trust assets, the ballot initiative process could not be used to regulate wolf trapping. The superior court ruled for Wright and decertified the ballot initiative, holding that ballot initiatives could not be used for wildlife and natural resource management. Alaska appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fabe, J.)
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