Akers v. State

OPINION

Judge MANNHEIMER.

The Petitioner, Bambi Akers, is facing a probation revocation proceeding in the district court. Over Akers’s objection, this revocation proceeding has been assigned to a magistrate judge. Akers argues that she has a statutory right to insist that a district court judge conduct the revocation proceeding.

To resolve this question, we must interpret AS 22.15.120—the statute that defines the authority of magistrate judges.

No provision of AS 22,15,120 expressly deals with probation revocation proceedings. However, three subsections of the statute— (a)(5), (a)(6), and…