Plain meaning is not necessarily determinative. The legislature's decision to treat fines and imprisonment as independent sentencing components would suggest that either fines or imprisonment may be suspended as a predicate to granting probation. Putnam cites federal case law construing the federal statute to require suspension of jail time as a prerequisite to a valid grant of probation. 3651, Putnam maintains that interpretation of the Alaska provision must be informed by the federal cases. 3651 that has not been carried over to the Alaska Statutes.
Courts have no inherent power to suspend the execution of any portion of a sentence.
In Alaska, this power derives, not from AS 12.55.090, but from AS 12.55.080. These two provisions were enacted together and must be read in pari materia. 3651, its federal counterpart. By contrast, AS 12.55.080, although roughly patterned after the second paragraph of 18 U.S.C. sec. 3651, differs markedly from its federal counterpart.