Demitri Kardem Scott v. State of Alaska

CourtCourt of Appeals of Alaska
DecidedJanuary 30, 2026
DocketA14453
StatusPublished

This text of Demitri Kardem Scott v. State of Alaska (Demitri Kardem Scott v. State of Alaska) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Alaska primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Demitri Kardem Scott v. State of Alaska, (Ala. Ct. App. 2026).

Opinion

NOTICE The text of this opinion can be corrected before the opinion is published in the Pacific Reporter. Readers are encouraged to bring typographical or other formal errors to the attention of the Clerk of the Appellate Courts: 303 K Street, Anchorage, Alaska 99501 Fax: (907) 264-0878 E-mail: corrections@akcourts.gov

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF ALASKA

DEMITRI KARDEM SCOTT, Court of Appeals No. A-14453 Appellant, Trial Court No. 3AN-23-09952 CI

v. OPINION STATE OF ALASKA,

Appellee. No. 2823 — January 30, 2026

Appeal from the Superior Court, Third Judicial District, Anchorage, Andrew Peterson, Judge.

Appearances: Josh Carson, Assistant Public Defender, Juneau, and Terrence Haas, Public Defender, Anchorage, for the Appellant. Lauren G. Johansen, Assistant Attorney General, Anchorage, and Treg R. Taylor, Attorney General, Juneau, for the Appellee.

Before: Allard, Chief Judge, and Harbison and Terrell, Judges.

Judge ALLARD.

Demitri Kardem Scott pleaded guilty to a consolidated count of first- degree robbery committed in August 2017 and was sentenced to 8 years’ imprisonment.1 The parole law in effect at the time of his offense was enacted as part of Senate Bill 91 (S.B. 91) and limited the amount of time that the Alaska Parole Board could impose on a parolee for the parole violation of absconding to 30 days.2 Scott was released on mandatory parole in May 2023. Scott failed to report to his parole officer, and he subsequently admitted to violating his parole conditions by absconding. By the time of his parole violation, the Alaska legislature had repealed many parts of S.B. 91, and the new parole statute did not have any limits on the time that could be imposed for absconding.3 Applying the law in effect at the time of Scott’s parole violation (rather than the parole law in effect at the time Scott committed his offense), the Parole Board fully revoked Scott’s parole, ordering him to serve the remaining 974 days of his sentence.4 Scott filed a pro se application for post-conviction relief, arguing that application of the current parole law to his case violated the state and federal constitutional prohibitions against ex post facto laws.5 The superior court denied Scott’s application, and Scott timely appealed. On appeal, Scott renews his claim that applying the current parole statutes to him, rather than the statutes in effect at the time of his underlying offense, violates

1 AS 11.41.500(a)(1). 2 Former AS 33.16.215(b) (2017) (“If the board revokes a parolee’s parole for absconding, the board may impose a period of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days.”). 3 See AS 33.16.220(i) (providing if “the board finds that the parolee has violated a condition of parole . . . the board may revoke all or a portion of the remaining period of parole”), as amended by FSSLA 2019, ch. 4, § 115. 4 See id. 5 U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 3; Alaska Const. art. I, § 15.

–2– 2823 the Ex Post Facto Clauses of the United States and Alaska Constitutions.6 Although Scott was released shortly after briefing in this case was completed, we reach the legal question raised in this appeal under the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine.7 For the reasons discussed in this opinion, we conclude that for those defendants, like Scott, who committed their underlying offenses when S.B. 91 was in effect, the post-S.B. 91 version of AS 33.16.220(i) cannot be applied by the Parole Board when imposing periods of imprisonment for technical violations of parole conditions.

The timing of the relevant legislation and events in Scott’s case In 2016, as part of S.B. 91, the Alaska legislature enacted statutes limiting the sanctions that the Parole Board may impose for technical parole violations such as absconding.8 Specifically, AS 33.16.215(b) provided: “If the board revokes a parolee’s parole for absconding, the board may impose a period of imprisonment not to exceed 30 days.”9 This limitation on the period of imprisonment for absconding was incorporated in AS 33.16.220(i): “[i]f, after the final revocation hearing, the board finds that the parolee has violated a condition of parole imposed under AS 33.16.150(a), (b), or (f), or a law or ordinance, the board may revoke all or a portion of the remaining

6 U.S. Const. art. I, § 9, cl. 3; Alaska Const. art. I, § 15. 7 See State v. Roberts, 999 P.2d 151, 153 (Alaska App. 2000) (quoting Krohn v. State, Dep’t of Fish & Game, 938 P.2d 1019, 1021 (Alaska 1997)). 8 See SLA 2016, ch. 36, §§ 145, 148-50; see also former AS 33.16.215(f)(1) (2017) (defining “absconding” as “failing to report [to a parole officer] within five working days after release from custody under AS 33.20.030 or failing to report for a scheduled meeting with a parole officer, as directed by the board or the parole officer, and failing to make contact with the parole officer within 30 days following the missed meeting”). 9 Former AS 33.16.215(b) (2017).

–3– 2823 period of parole subject to the limits set out in AS 33.16.215, or change any condition of parole.”10 These statutes went into effect on January 1, 2017, and applied “to parole granted before, on, or after th[at] effective date.”11 Scott pleaded guilty to a consolidated count of first-degree robbery that occurred in August 2017, when S.B. 91 was in effect.12 Pursuant to a plea agreement, Scott was sentenced to 8 years flat. In 2019, the legislature enacted House Bill 49 (H.B. 49), which repealed former AS 33.16.215.13 Under the amended AS 33.16.220(i), “the board may revoke all or a portion of the remaining period of parole or change any condition of parole.”14 The applicability provision of this law indicated that this amendment would “apply to parole ordered before, on, or after the effective date of those sections for conduct occurring on or after the effective date.”15 The effective date of these changes was July 9, 2019.16 In 2022, Scott became eligible for release from state custody on mandatory parole, but he remained in custody until May 2023 because of a pending

10 Former AS 33.16.220(i) (2017). 11 SLA 2016, ch. 36, §§ 185(p), 190. 12 See id. 13 FSSLA 2019, ch. 4, §§ 138, 150. 14 FSSLA 2019, ch. 4, § 115. 15 FSSLA 2019, ch. 4, § 142(g)(2). 16 Section 150 provided that the effective date was to be July 1, 2019, but the Governor did not sign H.B. 49 until July 8, 2019, so the effective date became July 9, 2019. See FSSLA 2019, ch. 4, §§ 138, 150; Governor Dunleavy Signs Crime-Fighting Legislation Into Law, Off. of the Governor (July 8, 2019), https://gov.alaska.gov/governor-dunleavy-signs- crime-fighting-legislation-into-law/.

–4– 2823 federal charge.17 One of Scott’s mandatory parole conditions required him to report to his parole officer on the next working day after being released from custody. Scott did not report as required; instead, he remained in abscond status until August, when he was arrested pursuant to a warrant. During a parole revocation hearing in September 2023, Scott admitted to violating his parole conditions by absconding. In response, the Parole Board revoked Scott’s parole entirely — ordering him to serve the remaining 974 days of his sentence. Scott filed a timely pro se application for post-conviction relief before the superior court.18

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Demitri Kardem Scott v. State of Alaska, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/demitri-kardem-scott-v-state-of-alaska-alaskactapp-2026.