State prosecutors to assist Anchorage prosecutors in backlog of cases
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - An article in the Anchorage Daily News and an interview with its author Kyle Hopkins on Alaska‘s News Source on Monday highlighted the lack of prosecutors in the city, leading to hundreds of misdemeanor cases being dismissed.
In a press release Tuesday, the Department of Law, which works on the state level, says the municipality had not asked for help with its backlog of cases until just before the ADN article was published. According to the release, the state is “rapidly reviewing how it can best support the Muni by temporarily taking on the prosecution of some misdemeanor cases.”
In the release, Alaska Deputy Attorney General John Skidmore writes, “Public safety is one of the primary goals of any government. The Department of Law is not staffed to take on all misdemeanor prosecutions in Anchorage, but we are working to lend a hand to protect the public as best we can while the Municipal prosecutor’s office gets back on its feet. Many of our prosecutors live in Anchorage, so for many of us this is our community too.”
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