Jackson v. State
Alaska Court of Appeals
85 P.3d 1042 (2004)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
William Jackson (defendant) was charged with driving with a suspended license. At Jackson’s arraignment, two future court dates were set. Jackson received notification of both dates but failed to appear for either. Jackson was then charged with two counts of failure to appear. During the failure-to-appear trial, Jackson alleged that he had incorrectly recalled the first court date, and then believed he did not have to attend the second date after missing the first. Jackson’s attorney requested that the judge issue a jury instruct that Jackson could only be found guilty if his culpable mental state of choosing to not appear in court coexisted simultaneously with the physical act of failing to appear. The judge instead instructed that Jackson could be convicted if the failure to appear had been a joint operation of a knowing mental state and the action. Jackson was convicted and appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Mannheimer, J.)
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