(DOWNLOAD) "Ronald J. Lavigne V. State Alaska" by Supreme Court of Alaska # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Ronald J. Lavigne V. State Alaska
- Author : Supreme Court of Alaska
- Release Date : January 31, 1991
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 63 KB
Description
Petitioner Ronald J. LaVigne's lawyer denied him the opportunity to testify in his own behalf at his criminal trial. After being convicted by a jury, Lavigne moved for a new trial on the grounds that his rights under the United States and Alaska Constitutions were violated. The superior court denied LaVigne's motion after Lavigne refused to offer proof of what his testimony would have been, thus establishing that he was prejudiced by the violation of his rights. The court of appeals upheld the decision. LaVigne v. State, 788 P.2d 52 (Alaska App. 1990). It agreed that any error was harmless since LaVigne had not shown that it prejudicially affected the outcome of his trial. Id. LaVigne then petitioned this court, claiming that the outcome-affecting harmless error test should not apply where a criminal defendant has been denied the fundamental constitutional right to testify. We find that the lower courts applied an improper standard of review to the denial of LaVigne's constitutional right, and we therefore reverse and remand to the superior court for further proceedings.